On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted decisively in favor of the Take It Down Act, a crucial piece of legislation aimed at tackling the alarming issue of posting sexual images and videos online without the consent of individuals. This includes the rising threat of AI-generated “deepfake” nudes that exploit real people's likenesses. The bipartisan bill, which received unanimous approval in the Senate earlier this February, is now set to be sent to President Donald Trump, who is anticipated to sign it into law shortly.
The Take It Down Act criminalizes the publication of nonconsensual intimate imagery (NCII), making it a federal offense. It also mandates that online platforms must remove such imagery within a strict timeframe of 48 hours upon receiving a report. This landmark legislation marks the first significant internet law of Trump’s second term and represents a proactive step against the rapidly growing issue of NCII in the United States.
The passage of this bill has been met with enthusiasm from advocates supporting victims of revenge porn and sextortion scams. However, some advocates for free expression and privacy rights have voiced concerns over potential misuse of the law. The bill was approved with a remarkable vote of 409-2, a significant victory for First Lady Melania Trump, who has been a prominent advocate for the legislation through her “Be Best” initiative aimed at combating cyberbullying.
President Trump previously indicated his intention to sign the bill, humorously noting its relevance to his own experiences with online harassment, stating, “because nobody gets treated worse than I do online.” The legislation gained momentum after a roundtable discussion on Capitol Hill in March, where advocates shared personal stories about the devastating effects of NCII.
During the Capitol Hill roundtable, speakers like Elliston Berry, who was only 14 when a male classmate used an AI application to create and share fake pornographic images of her, highlighted the urgent need for this legislation. In another poignant account, South Carolina state Rep. Brandon Guffey recounted the tragic story of his son, who took his own life in 2022 after being blackmailed by a sextortion scammer.
“Today’s bipartisan passage of the Take It Down Act is a powerful statement that we stand united in protecting the dignity, privacy, and safety of our children,” Melania Trump emphasized in a statement following the bill's passage.
In recent years, there has been a surge in AI “undress” apps capable of creating fake images of individuals in mere seconds. These applications utilize advanced technology similar to that found in popular image-generation tools like DALL-E and Midjourney. Many of these apps have been observed advertising on mainstream social networks, including Meta’s Instagram, despite violating the platforms' community guidelines.
Female celebrities, such as Taylor Swift and comedian Bobbi Althoff, have been frequent targets of sexually explicit AI-generated images that have gone viral on social media platforms, including Elon Musk’s X. Victims of NCII often describe their attempts to remove nonconsensual images from the internet as a chaotic and frustrating process.
In contrast to previous efforts to regulate social media, the Take It Down Act garnered support from several leading tech companies, such as Meta, Google, and Snap, facilitating its smooth passage through Congress. The House version, co-sponsored by Reps. María Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) and Madeleine Dean (D-Pennsylvania), passed under a procedure known as “suspension of the rules,” which allows bills that are not expected to be controversial to pass without debate.
Despite its broad backing, the bill is not without its critics. Lia Holland, legislative director of the digital rights group Fight for the Future, expressed concerns that the bill is “well-intentioned but poorly drafted.” She warned that it might allow malicious actors to misuse the law to remove legitimate content they dislike, drawing a parallel to the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which also requires platforms to remove content upon complaint.
Concerns were raised by privacy advocates about the potential implications for private messaging applications, but supporters clarified that the law is intended to target public-facing online platforms only. The Take It Down Act has also received endorsements from various left-leaning advocates, including Zephyr Teachout, a Fordham University law professor, who noted its careful crafting to withstand First Amendment challenges in court.
Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School and former advisor to President Biden, also voiced his support for the legislation, emphasizing the need for Congress to take a more active role in addressing the harms associated with social media. “More needs to be done to protect children and vulnerable people,” he stated, highlighting the pressing need for further action in this area.
