Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that President Trump has signed the Act.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed the “TAKE IT DOWN Act” to combat artificial intelligence-generated explicit imagery on Monday.
The bill, which aims to protect children from deepfake exploitation, was championed by First Lady Melania Trump who spoke during the press conference.
The First Lady said Trump’s signature on the law is “not where our work ends on this issue.”
“Now we look to the federal trade commission and the private sector to do their part,” she said.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday morning that the first lady met with members of the House and Senate, survivors and their families, and advocates during the process to “get this bill across the finish line.”
Leavitt said the legislation will “protect victims of digital exploitation, hold internet platforms accountable by requiring them to remove such imagery from their platforms, and provide justice for victims by allowing prosecutors to go after those who publish nonconsensual, explicit images online.”
The first lady also previously held a Capitol Hill Roundtable on online protection and the TAKE IT DOWN Act on March 3.
It was brought in the House by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla, and in the Senate by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Cruz said it “empowers young women and men who are victims of the scourge of deepfake and revenge non-consensual intimate imagery, which is a huge victory for all Americans online.”
Salazar celebrated the passage as well, saying the bill “will finally give innocent victims real protection from online exploitation.”
“Websites and platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok must remove fake, compromising pornographic images within 48 hours or face consequences,” she said. “No more inaction. No more excuses: if you exploit an innocent child, you will face jail time.”
