Ted Cruz

Mr. President, Thanks · 52 wordsreserving the right to object, I want to start by commending my colleagues and friends, Senator Blackburn and Senator Coons. They both are sincere and passionate about this bill, and they both worked hard. They worked a long time to protect artists and to protect creators, and I support that endeavor wholeheartedly.Thanks Claims · 74 wordsI want to see this bill pass. Indeed, in the Senate Judiciary Committee, I voted for this bill and expressed, at the time, that I wanted to see the bill pass.¹ But I also said in the Senate Judiciary Committee that I was concerned that there were not sufficient free speech protections in the draft of the bill, as written, and that free speech parody and political parody needed to be more fully protected. Reasoning · 22 wordsThere is a difference between stealing a country music star’s voice and using it for commercial purposes and engaging in political parody. Claims · 244 wordsFor example, Spencer Pratt, when he ran for mayor of Los Angeles, had fantastic ads--made using AI--that parodied his political opponents.² They were funny; they were effective. I don’t think anyone watching thought Karen Bass was actually a Batman villain from the ``Lego’’ movies, but people laughed, and they shared them, and they were effective communication. Likewise, President Trump has used AI for political communication. I don’t think anyone really believes that there was a flock of Canadian geese marching with machineguns. But, again, it was a powerful communication tool. So, at the markup, I expressed that I and my team were happy to work with both Senator Blackburn and Senator Coons to enhance the free speech protections so you are protecting legitimate free speech while going after the theft of someone’s right of publicity. One of my concerns about how this bill is drafted right now is that it would apply to satirical websites like the Babylon Bee or The Onion, ³and it leaves the decision as to whether someone’s use of a likeness falls within the exception--it creates an exception for what it calls bona fide parody, but it leaves it to Big Tech to make the decision as to whether it falls in that exception or not. And the use of a deepfake law to silence and punish political speech is not idle speculation. In fact, California lawmakers have already suggested that Pratt’s viral campaign ads could violate State deepfake rules.⁴ Reasoning · 7 wordsThat, I think, is a real problem. Procedure · 4 wordsSo I will reiterate, ProcedureClaims · 42 wordsand I will say also that I have no hesitation against strong legislation that stops deepfakes. Indeed, I am the author, along with Senator Klobuchar, of the only legislation Congress has passed regulating AI and prohibiting deepfakes, the TAKE IT DOWN law.⁵ Reasoning · 27 wordsI think that illustrates the sort of approach we should have in targeting a specific problem--in that instance, publishing explicit, nonconsensual, intimate images, either real or deepfakes. Claims · 19 wordsThat is now a Federal felony, ⁶and there is now an obligation on tech platforms to remove that content.⁷ Promise · 26 wordsSo I will repeat to my friends the commitment I made at markup: I am happy to work with you.Vague promise I want this bill to pass, Procedure · 4 wordsand I will suggest: ProcedureThe ask · 18 wordsLet’s take the next few weeks to have our staff work together to strengthen the free speech protections. Promise · 16 wordsThen we can come back here and pass this into law while fully protecting free speech. Procedure · 8 wordsAt least as of now, though, I object.Procedure