On Friday, September 27, 2024, Omny Miranda Martone, Founder and CEO of the Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA), attended and spoke on a panel at the International Network Against Cyber Hate (INACH) 22nd Anti-Cyber Hate Summit in Budapest, Hungary.
During the panel, Martone spoke on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create non-consensual deepfake pornography and the critical importance of taking measures to prevent digital sexual violence. Martone highlighted SVPA’s DEFIANCE Act, a bipartisan bill to address and prevent non-consensual deepfake pornography by empowering victims to seek justice, which passed the Senate unanimously at the end of July and has been introduced in the House by Rep. Laurel Lee and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
During the Summit, Martone also presented SVPA’s 5 R’s of Digital Bystander Intervention as well as the Strategy for the Systemic Prevention of Digital Sexual Violence. “On an individual level, we need to make sure there is legislation ensuring accountability, and on the institutional level, we need legislation which regulates that these organizations have policies in place that both educate users and their associates, and that prevents deepfake pornography from taking place to begin with,” Martone said on the panel.
“I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the devastating harms of digital sexual violence. As a victim, I know firsthand that our current laws, strategies, and systems are failing survivors,” Martone said. “We need companies, elected officials, governments, and activists around the world to work together to prevent digital sexual violence.”
The SVPA would like to thank the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme of the European Union for supporting this important initiative. Preventing digital sexual violence requires collaboration and a unified front across countries. A recording of the summit can be found here. The panel starts at 1:00:00.
