Landmark legislation will criminalize the spread of revenge and deepfake porn, empower victims, and protect Americans online

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement after his bipartisan TAKE IT DOWN Act was signed into law by President Trump. The TAKE IT DOWN Act was authored by Sen. Cruz and co-led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

The TAKE IT DOWN Act criminalizes the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including AI-generated NCII (or “deepfake revenge pornography”), and requires social media and similar websites to remove such content within 48 hours of notice from a victim.

Upon the signing of the TAKE IT DOWN Act, Sen. Cruz said:

“The TAKE IT DOWN ACT is an historic win for victims of revenge porn and deepfake image abuse. Predators who weaponize new technology to post this exploitative filth will now rightfully face criminal consequences, and Big Tech will no longer be allowed to turn a blind eye to the spread of this vile material. This day stands as a powerful testament to the bravery and dedication of Elliston Berry, Francesca Mani, Breeze Liu, and Brandon Guffey, whose relentless advocacy made this law possible. I am deeply grateful to my legislative partners, particularly Sen. Amy Klobuchar and First Lady Melania Trump, for their collaboration in advancing this critical legislation to protect every American’s privacy and dignity online.”

Sen. Klobuchar said:

“Passing the TAKE IT DOWN Act into law is a major victory for victims of online abuse – giving people legal protections and tools for when their intimate images, including deepfakes, are shared without their consent, and enabling law enforcement to hold perpetrators accountable. This is also a landmark move towards establishing common-sense rules of the road around social media and AI. Thank you to the victims, advocates, and law enforcement officials who have banded together to work with Senator Cruz and me to pass this legislation. The support of the First Lady has been key to this effort, and I am glad the President is signing this historic bill into law.”

More than 120 organizations representing victim advocacy groups, law enforcement, and tech industry leaders have voiced their support for the legislation, including the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network), and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE).

In March, Sen. Cruz and House Republican lead Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) hosted a bipartisan roundtable with First Lady Melania Trump to hear from victims of revenge and deepfake pornography and urge the House to pass the bipartisan TAKE IT DOWN Act. During his State of the Union address, President Trump emphasized the bill’s importance and said, “I look forward to signing it into law.”

During the 118^th Congress, the bill unanimously passed the Senate Commerce Committee and the full Senate, but did not make it to the House floor for a vote. When the bill was reintroduced in the 119^th Congress, the TAKE IT DOWN Act unanimously passed the Senate again in February and passed the House in April. The House companion was introduced by Reps. Salazar and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.). In March, Sen . Cruz and House Republican lead Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salzar (R-Fla.)

Background:

While nearly every state has a law protecting people from non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including 30 states with laws explicitly covering sexual deepfakes, these state laws vary in classification of crime and penalty and have uneven criminal prosecution. Further, victims struggle to have images depicting them removed from websites, increasing the likelihood the images are continuously spread and victims are retraumatized.

In 2022, Congress passed legislation creating a civil cause of action for victims to sue individuals responsible for publishing NCII. However, bringing a civil action can be incredibly impractical. It is time-consuming, expensive, and may force victims to relive trauma. Further exacerbating the problem, it is not always clear who is responsible for publishing the NCII. 

The TAKE IT DOWN Act would protect and empower victims of real and deepfake NCII while respecting speech by:

• Criminalizing the publication of NCII in interstate commerce. The bill makes it unlawful for a person to knowingly publish NCII on social media and other online platforms. NCII is defined to include realistic, computer-generated pornographic images and videos that depict identifiable, real people. The bill also clarifies that a victim consenting to the creation of an authentic image does not mean that the victim has consented to its publication.
• Protecting good faith efforts to assist victims. The bill permits the good faith disclosure of NCII, such as to law enforcement. 
• Requiring websites to take down NCII upon notice from the victim. Social media and other websites would be required to have in place procedures to remove NCII, pursuant to a valid request from a victim, within 48 hours. Websites must also make reasonable efforts to remove copies of the images. The Federal Trade Commission is charged with enforcement of this section. 
• Protecting lawful speech. The bill is narrowly tailored to criminalize knowingly publishing NCII without chilling lawful speech. The bill conforms to current First Amendment jurisprudence by requiring that computer-generated NCII meet a “reasonable person” test for appearing indistinguishable from an authentic image.

To read the bill text, click HERE.

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