{"id":28791,"date":"2026-01-03T08:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T08:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=28791"},"modified":"2026-01-03T08:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T08:50:08","slug":"house-passes-take-it-down-act-criminalizing-deep-fake-revenge-photos-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=28791","title":{"rendered":"House Passes \u2018Take It Down\u2019 Act Criminalizing Deep Fake Revenge Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Take It Down Act, a measure that would criminalize the publication of nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes, passed the House on Monday and now heads to President Trump\u2019s desk for his signature.<\/p>\n

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The bill cleared the House in a decisive 409\u20132 vote, with 22 members not voting. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) cast the only votes against the measure, The Hill reported.<\/p>\n

The bill would make it a federal crime to purposely post computer-generated, realistically looking pornographic images or videos that appear to depict identifiably real persons on social media or other platforms online.<\/p>\n

Trump signaled last month that he intends to sign the measure into law.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Senate just passed the Take It Down Act. Once it passes the House, I look forward to signing that bill into law,\u201d Trump told a joint session of Congress in early March. \u201cAnd I\u2019m going to use that bill for myself too if you don\u2019t mind, because nobody gets treated worse than I do online, nobody.\u201d<\/p>\n

First Lady Melania Trump also voiced her support for the bill, attending a roundtable on the measure last month. She promptly praised its passage on Monday evening.<\/p>\n

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\u201cToday\u2019s 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,\u201d the first lady wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n

The measure was sponsored by Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) in the upper chamber, while Representatives Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) and Madeline Dean (D-Pennsylvania) were the co-leads on the House version.<\/p>\n

Cruz celebrated the bill\u2019s passage on Monday, calling it a \u201chistoric win in the fight to protect victims of revenge porn and deepfake abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cBy requiring social media companies to take down this abusive content quickly, we are sparing victims from repeated trauma and holding predators accountable,\u201d he noted in a statement.<\/p>\n

Massie took to the X platform to explain his \u201cno\u201d vote, writing, \u201cI\u2019m voting NO because I feel this is a slippery slope, ripe for abuse, with unintended consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The measure is the first youth online safety bill to clear Congress this session, giving lawmakers a rare win after related proposals stalled last year. Tech-safety advocates and families have spent years lobbying for laws like the Take It Down Act, aiming to hold tech companies accountable for social media harms to children, The Hill noted.<\/p>\n

Many online safety advocates are backing the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which would establish rules governing the features tech and social media companies offer to children.<\/p>\n

Though the Senate passed KOSA 91\u20133 last session, it stalled in the House amid GOP leadership\u2019s concerns that it could curb free speech.<\/p>\n

While some lawmakers worry Trump\u2019s ties to Big Tech might lead him to oppose the measure, Sen. Ted Cruz told The Hill last month that he doesn\u2019t expect that to occur, said The Hill.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery conversation I\u2019ve had with the Trump administration on this topic has evidenced a commitment to protecting free speech and ending Big Tech censorship,\u201d he said, pointing to the president and first lady\u2019s support of the Take It Down Act.<\/p>\n

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Certain tech policy groups, including Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI), an AI advocacy group, hailed the passage of the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time in years, Congress is passing legislation to protect vulnerable communities online and requiring tech giants to clean up their act,\u201d ARI President Brad Carson said. \u201cThis bill is going to make a difference in the lives of victims and prevent another generation from being targeted with non-consensual intimate deepfakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others, meanwhile, said they were worried that the legislation could wind up stifling free speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe TAKE IT DOWN Act is a missed opportunity for Congress to meaningfully help victims of nonconsensual intimate imagery,\u201d said Becca Branum, the deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology\u2019s Free Expression Project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best of intentions can\u2019t make up for the bill\u2019s dangerous implications for constitutional speech and privacy online,\u201d she said Monday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n