President Trump signed a bill on Monday criminalizing the publication of nonconsensual sexually explicit “deepfake” images and videos online, marking the first major technology safety bill signed during his second term.
The president touted the bill as the “first ever federal law to combat the distribution of explicit imagery posted without subjects’ consent.”
“With the rise of AI image generation, countless women have been harassed with deepfakes and other explicit images distributed against their will,” Trump said. “It’s just so horribly wrong, and it’s a very abusive situation, like in some cases, people have never seen before. And today, we’re making it totally illegal.”
The Take It Down Act makes it a crime for a person to knowingly publish computer-generated pornographic images and videos that depict real individuals.
It further requires websites to take down the content within 48 hours of hearing from the victim and are expected to make “reasonable efforts” to remove image copies. The Federal Trade Commission is poised with enforcing this speech.
First lady Melania Trump, a vocal supporter of the bill, spoke ahead of Trump’s signing in the Rose Garden.
“This legislation is a powerful step forward in our efforts to ensure that every American, especially young people, can feel better protected from their image or identity being abused,” the first lady said.
“Thank you all for coming together to prioritize people over politics,” she added, prompting applause from the audience.
She attended a roundtable on the measure at the Capitol in March and her support comes as part of her broader youth initiative focused on combatting issues related to children’s well-being.
A number of lawmakers were present for the signing including Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), the bill’s Republican sponsors in the Senate and House, respectively.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Madeline Dean (D-Pa.) were the Democratic sponsors in their respective chambers.
Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), along with House Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) were also spotted at the signing.
Social media platform X CEO Linda Yaccarino was also present and mentioned by the president in his remarks.
It comes just weeks after the bill passed the House in an overwhelming 409-2 vote, with 22 members not voting. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) were the sole “no” votes.
The measure was sponsored by Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in the upper chamber, while Reps. Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) and Madeline Dean (D-Pa.) were the co-leads on the House version.
The bill marks the first youth online safety bill to pass Congress this session, handing some lawmakers a win after failing to pass most related legislation last year.
The Take It Down Act had the backing of tech safety groups and families hoping to hold technology companies accountable for social media harms, specifically on young children.
Other technology groups have expressed free speech concerns that the bill will unintentionally lead to the removal of content that does not fall under the law.
Supporters of the bill reject this argument, stating it conforms it First Amendment requirements by requiring the deepfake meet a “reasonable person” test for appearing indistinguishable from an authentic image.
