Paris Hilton returned to Capitol Hill on Thursday to advocate for stronger protections against non-consensual explicit imagery.
Speaking alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the billionaire hotel heiress drew on her own experience as she pushed for the DEFIANCE Act.
In her speech, Hilton described the unauthorised release of a private video when she was 19 as a form of abuse, not a scandal.
Hilton said the leak occurred at a time when there were no laws or even language to address what had happened to her. She recalled being publicly mocked, shamed, and reduced to a punchline while others profited from her pain.
According to Hilton, the incident stripped her of control over her body, reputation, and sense of safety.
Although she believed she had moved past the trauma, Hilton said the rise of artificial intelligence has reopened old wounds. She warned that deepfake pornography has created a new and widespread form of exploitation that requires no real images or personal connection. She described the phenomenon as an epidemic affecting millions of women and girls.
Hilton revealed that more than 100,000 AI-generated explicit images falsely depicting her currently exist online. She said none are real or consensual and said each new image reignites the same fear and humiliation she felt years ago.
If passed, the DEFIANCE Act would give victims the right to sue creators and distributors of AI-generated pornographic deepfakes.
Hilton cited data suggesting one in eight girls experience harm related to deepfake pornography, calling the figure alarming. Hilton said her advocacy is driven by the need to protect future generations.
