Paris Hilton Takes Sex Tape Trauma to Washington to Fight AI Deepfake Porn

Paris Hilton has taken her most personal trauma to the heart of American politics, speaking on Capitol Hill in Washington DC to support legislation aimed at curbing the spread of AI-generated deepfake pornography.

Standing alongside lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, Paris Hilton revisited the non-consensual sex tape leak that dominated headlines in the early 2000s, calling it “abuse” rather than scandal — and warning that artificial intelligence has made image-based exploitation far more widespread and dangerous.

“When I was 19 years old, a private, intimate video of me was shared with the world without my consent,” Paris Hilton said. “People called it a scandal. It wasn’t. It was abuse.”

From Early Internet Cruelty to AI-Fuelled Exploitation

Paris Hilton told reporters that when the tape was leaked, there were no laws and no language to describe what had been done to her. The internet was still young, she said, but the cruelty it enabled was already entrenched.

“They sold my pain for clicks,” Paris Hilton recalled. “Then they told me to be quiet, to move on, to even be grateful for the attention.”

Nearly 25 years later, she says technology has evolved in terrifying ways. Cameras are no longer required to commit sexual image abuse. AI tools can now generate explicit, realistic fake images of real women, often at massive scale.

Hilton revealed that more than 100,000 explicit deepfake images falsely depicting her now exist online. “Not one of them is real, not one of them is consensual,” she said.

Paris Hilton Sex Tape Leak

What the DEFIANCE Act Aims to Do

Paris Hilton is lending her profile to the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act, known as the DEFIANCE Act, which recently passed the US Senate unanimously.

The proposed law would make it easier for victims of AI-generated sexual content to sue those who create, distribute, or solicit such material. The bill has bipartisan backing in the House of Representatives, including Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Laurel Lee.

Supporters acknowledge its limitations. Deepfake creators often remain anonymous, and the law would apply only within the United States. Still, advocates see it as a critical first step toward global accountability.

A Growing Global Crisis

Research suggests the scale of the problem is exploding. A recent analysis estimated that one AI program alone publicly shared millions of sexualised images in just days, including thousands involving minors. In Australia, regulators warn that deepfake image abuse is occurring weekly in schools, underscoring how quickly the technology has outpaced regulation.

Hilton said she intends to take her advocacy beyond Washington. “This is happening all around the world,” she said. “And I want to help everyone as much as I can.”

Rewriting a Public Narrative

Once dismissed as “famous for being famous,” Hilton has spent recent years reframing her public image through activism. She has previously lobbied the White House and testified before Congress about abuse in youth treatment centres.

“Doing my advocacy work has truly been the most meaningful work of my life,” Hilton said.

For Hilton, the fight against deepfake pornography is not only about technology — it’s about finally naming exploitation for what it is, and ensuring future victims are protected in ways she never was.