Labrador Letter: Fighting to Stop Big Tech’s War on Women and Children

Dear Friends,

Parents should be able to post pictures of their children online without worrying that predators will steal those images and manipulate them into inappropriate content. Students should be able to attend school without fear that bullies will create fake AI images to destroy their reputations. But major corporations like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal are processing payments for websites that create fake intimate imagery targeting victims without consent. Meanwhile, search engines like Google refuse to block searches that help predators find these tools.

That's why I joined a bipartisan coalition of 47 attorneys general across the country in sending letters demanding that these companies stop enabling digital predators. In those letters, we demanded payment platforms stop processing transactions for websites that sell deepfake creation tools and that search engines apply consistent standards when it comes to protecting victims from exploitation.

These same companies already know how to stop harmful content when they want to. Search engines block bomb-making instructions and redirect users searching for suicide methods to mental health resources. Payment processors refuse to handle transactions for illegal content. But when it comes to tools that exploit innocent people, including our children, they are looking the other way.

Research shows that 98% of all fake videos online are nonconsensual intimate imagery, with women and girls overwhelmingly targeted. High school students across America have had their reputations destroyed when classmates used artificial intelligence to create fake images and spread them around school. Even celebrities like Taylor Swift have been victimized when this content went viral online.

This connects directly to the work our Internet Crimes Against Children Unit does protecting Idaho's kids every day. When I took office, ICAC had a 1,400-tip backlog of child exploitation reports sitting unaddressed. We eliminated that backlog completely and now respond to new tips within 24 hours. We've arrested more predators in the past year than the previous three years combined.

But we can't arrest our way out of this problem if major corporations keep building the payment systems and platforms that make exploitation profitable. Right now, any vindictive person can destroy someone's reputation using nothing more than social media photos and easily accessible software. Any school bully can create fake imagery to humiliate classmates. Any predator can target children whose photos appear online.

Our demands to these companies are simple and reasonable. Payment processors should apply the same standards they use for other harmful content by refusing to process payments for exploitation tools. Search engines should treat searches for these tools the same way they treat other dangerous searches by blocking them and redirecting users to appropriate resources.

Parents shouldn't have to worry that their children's photos could be stolen and manipulated. Students shouldn't fear that bad actors could create fake images to destroy their reputations.

We gave these companies a clear choice to either implement these basic safeguards or face legal consequences. Idaho refuses to stand by while tech giants profit from the sexual exploitation of innocent people. This fight is about protecting the dignity and safety of our families, and we won't back down. Read our letter to Search Platforms and Payment Platforms.

Best regards,