Featured Image Credit: Heather Diehl/Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Mental Health, Paris Hilton, Sex and Relationships, US News
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Celebrity, Mental Health, Paris Hilton, Sex and Relationships, US News
Warning: This article contains discussion of image-based sexual abuse which some readers may find distressing.
Paris Hilton has opened up about 'something she's never fully said aloud' while calling on Congress to turn the DEFIANCE Act into law.
On Thursday (January 22), a news conference was held on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, to advocate for the DEFIANCE Act.
The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act is a piece of US federal legislation set out to try and protect people from image-based sexual abuse, including AI-generated sexually explicit content.
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During the conference, hosted by Paris Hilton alongside US Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Laurel Lee, Hilton took to the microphone to open up about her own personal experiences.
Prior to reflecting on deep-fake porn, Hilton channeled the 'power' she's discovered in speaking her truth into opening up about 'something that [she's] never fully said aloud' before.
Thanking 'every woman, girl and survivor' watching for being 'the reason' she's here, Hilton reflected on previously helping pass the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, a legislation 'deeply personal' to her.
Since coming back to the capital, she reflected she feels 'something new' - 'strength'.
Addressing a 'private intimate video' of her and then-boyfriend Rick Salomon being leaked in 2004 when she was just 19 years old, Hilton emphasized it was 'shared with the world without [her] consent'.
"People called it a scandal. It wasn't. It was abuse," she continued.
Recalling there being 'no laws at the time' to 'protect' her, and there not even being 'words' for what was 'done to' her.
Hilton reflected the internet was 'still new and so was the cruelty that came with it'.
"They called me names, they laughed and made me the punch line," she continued. "They sold my pain for clicks, and then they told me to be quiet, to move on, to even be grateful for the attention."
Hilton said that as a result of the private intimate video being shared online, she 'lost control over [her] body, over [her] reputation' and her 'sense of safety and self worth was stolen'.
While she has since 'fought hard' to regain those things, the worst is not yet over.
Hilton explained what happened to her is still happening now to 'millions of girls and women', but in an even more 'terrifying' capacity.
"Before, someone had to betray your trust and steal something real," she said. "Now, all it takes is a computer and a stranger's imagination."
Noting there are over '100,000 explicit deep fake images' of her made by AI, she resolved: "Deep fake pornography has become an epidemic."
And it's an epidemic 'no amount of money or lawyers can stop or protect [her]' from.
The businesswoman and media personality went on to explain why 'this isn't just about technology'.
She said: "It's about power. It's about someone using someone's likeness to humiliate, silence and strip them of their dignity.
"But victims deserve more than after-the-fact apologies. We deserve justice."
And the DEFIANCE Act 'gives survivors a path to justice'.
Hilton reflected: "I am lucky. I had the platform to reclaim my story. But so many others don't. And what I've learned is this, is if your image is violated, it doesn't disappear, it lives inside you, but so does your power."
Calling on Congress to pass the Defiance Act through the House, Hilton resolved: "Let's finally make it law."
If you or someone you know has had an intimate image or video released without their consent, you can visit the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative’s (CCRI) Safety Center for help deciding what to do. CCRI also has an Image Abuse Helpline at 1-844-878-CCRI (2274).