Paris Hilton appeared before the United States Congress this week. Her goal was clear and personal: to advocate for legal protections for victims of digital exploitation and, specifically, for the passage of the DEFIANCE Act, a bill that would allow lawsuits for the creation and distribution of deepfake pornography generated by artificial intelligence. Accompanied by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 44-year-old businesswoman and television personality shared a story of pain and resilience that marked her life. "When I was 19, a private and intimate video of me was shared with the world without my consent. People called it a scandal. It wasn't. It was abuse," Hilton told lawmakers, recalling the non-consensual leak of a video in 2004. "There were no laws then to protect me. There weren't even words for what they did to me." Hilton described how the trauma was minimized and turned into a public spectacle. "They insulted me, laughed at me, and made me the butt of a joke. They sold my pain just for clicks (...). Nobody asked what I lost: I lost control over my body, over my reputation."

On Artificial Intelligence

However, her return to the Capitol isn't just about closing a past chapter. Hilton warned of an exponentially greater threat: the epidemic of artificial intelligence applied to sexual exploitation.

“I thought the worst was behind me, but it wasn't. What happened to me then is now happening to millions of women and girls in a more terrifying way,” she explained. "Before, someone had to betray your trust and steal something real. Now, all it takes is a computer and a stranger's imagination."

She is experiencing the magnitude of the problem firsthand. Hilton revealed that there are more than 100,000 explicit deepfake images of her generated by AI. "None of them are real, none of them are consensual. And every time a new one appears, that horrible feeling returns," she confessed. "No lawyer or amount of money can stop it or protect me any further." With her husband, Carter Reum, present in support,Hilton framed her fight within a broader social and familial context. She cited that one in eight girls already suffers the consequences of deepfake pornography and linked her activism to her role as the mother of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl. "I would give anything to protect her. But I can't protect her from this, at least not yet. That's why I'm here," she declared. "This isn't just about technology; it's about power. It's about using a person's image to humiliate them, silence them, and strip them of their dignity." Her testimony was a powerful call for legislative action. "We victims deserve more than belated apologies. We deserve justice," she asserted. Hilton presented herself not only as a celebrity, but as the voice of those who lack her platform: “I had the platform to reclaim my story, but so many others don't.” In closing, her message was: "I am Paris Hilton, a woman, a wife, a mother, a survivor, and what was done to me was wrong. I will continue to speak the truth to protect every woman, every girl, every survivor, now and in the future."