Bipartisan bill to protect, empower victims of deepfake revenge porn clears crucial legislative hurdle 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) bipartisan legislation, the TAKE IT DOWN Act, today cleared the Commerce Committee unanimously. The TAKE IT DOWN Act, which Sen. Cruz recently introduced with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), would criminalize the publication of non-consensual, sexually exploitative images—including AI-generated deepfakes—and require platforms to have in place notice and takedown processes. 

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

“Combating the scourge of revenge and deepfake exploitative sexual material online is an issue that cuts across partisan lines. Today’s unanimous committee vote in support of the TAKE IT DOWN Act is a crucial step toward protecting and empowering victims of this heinous crime. As bad actors continue to exploit newer technologies like generative artificial intelligence to victimize women and girls across the country, it is vital that Congress provide victims with pathways for the removal of and prosecution of the publication of these abusive images. The full House and Senate should swiftly pass this legislation so that it reaches the President’s desk before more victims are left without recourse.”

The TAKE IT DOWN ACT is co-sponsored by Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Martin Heinrich (D-N. Mex.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).

Background:

While nearly every state has a law protecting people from NCII, including 29 states with laws explicitly covering deepfake NCII, 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, in narrow cases.  
• 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 FTC 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 to realistically depict an individual.  

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