Advocates urge House Leaders to Pass Senate’s Bipartisan Bill to Protect Teens from Deepfake ‘Revenge Porn’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and U.S. Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) hosted a bipartisan roundtable with First Lady Melania Trump to hear from victims of revenge and deepfake pornography and highlight the urgent need for the House to pass the bipartisan TAKE IT DOWN Act. The bill, which passed the Senate unanimously, criminalizes the publication of such non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including explicit content generated by artificial intelligence.

The First Lady, Sen. Cruz, and Rep. Salazar were joined by members of House leadership, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), and Republican Policy Chair Kevin Hern (R-Okla.). Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a vocal supporter of the TAKE IT DOWN Act, was also in attendance. 

House leaders responded by pledging to take swift action on the TAKE IT DOWN Act. 

During the roundtable, victim advocates and experts on revenge and deepfake pornography shared personal stories and expressed how these incidents have forever changed lives. Below is a summary of comments from today’s event.

Sen. Cruz said: 

“If you’re a victim of revenge or AI generated explicit imagery, your life changes forever, most likely you’ve been targeted by someone you know, and you’re likely struggling to have that material removed from the internet[…]

“The TAKE IT DOWN Act empowers victims across the entire United States. It makes it a felony for these deviants to publish any non-consensual intimate images, including fake, lifelike pornographic images of real people. Just as importantly, our bipartisan bill requires Big Tech to have a notice-and-takedown process so every victimized American – not just the rich or famous – can get these disturbing images offline immediately. 

“We are, today, one step closer to making this dream a reality. Just three weeks ago, the Senate unanimously passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Now, it goes to my House colleagues, and I have every assurance and confidence that the House will take this up, pass it, and put it on the President's desk so that we can protect the victims of these predators.

“And we’re very excited to be joined today by the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump. Mrs. Trump has long been a champion for protecting our nation's children with her “Be Best” initiative. And I can think of no more important issue for our First Lady to lead on than protecting children online. Your success will mean our children's success and healing for thousands of victims.”

First Lady Melania Trump said: 

“I am here with you today with a common goal – to protect our youth from online harm. The widespread presence of abusive behavior in the digital domain affects the daily lives of our children, families, and communities. Addressing this issue is essential for fostering a safe and supportive environment for our young people. I hope today’s roundtable builds awareness of the harm caused by non-consensual intimate imagery and eventually the approval of the TAKE IT DOWN Act in Congress […]

“As First Lady, my commitment to the ‘Be Best’ initiative underscores the importance of online safety. In an era where digital interactions are integral to daily life, it is imperative that we safeguard children from mean-spirited and hurtful online behavior. Ensuring their protection is not just a responsibility but a vital step in nurturing tomorrow’s leaders […]

“I urge Congress to prioritize the passage of the TAKE IT DOWN Act. This legislation is essential for addressing the growing concerns related to online safety, protecting individual rights, and promoting a healthier digital environment. By advancing this bill, Congress can take an important step towards ensuring accountability and fostering responsible online behavior. The TAKE IT DOWN Act represents a powerful step toward justice, healing, and unity.”

Rep. Salazar said:

“The name of the legislation that we’re presenting is called the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Its mission is very simple. It’s profound and long-lasting. It stops cyber abuse. It prevents bullying one child against another. 

“Even more important, it is going to prevent suicide out of shame. It is outrageously sick to use the images, the face, the voice that likes the young, vulnerable female, to manipulate them, to extort them, to humiliate them publicly, just for revenge or just for fun. That is why we created this bill, and it’s going to stop the abuse throughout social media […]

“Our bill, the TAKE IT DOWN Act, finally is sending a very big message to big tech that they have to bring down these images, fake images, within 48 hours. No more time than that, no more excuses.” 

House Speaker Mike Johnson said:

“I’m just going to say very briefly to state the obvious, as the dark side of technology advances, these unspeakable evils become part of the culture, the law has to keep up. And I’m really grateful that we have thoughtful legislators here who take the reins on this and are willing to pass legislation to address it. We are anxious to put on the floor in the House, to get the President Trump’s desk for a signature, because we’ve got to do what we can to stop this, and I am a full supporter of it.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said: 

“[…] It will be a priority to bring the bill to the House floor quickly, to get it to the President’s desk for signature, because it’s going to give victims two things. One, it’s going to give them the protection that they deserve to say within 48 hours, this will be taken down. The platforms will have to take it down. And then it’s going to do something else that just doesn’t exist at the level it should, and that is the accountability to the perpetrator.” 

Ms. Elliston Berry, high school student and advocate for fellow victims of deepfake pornography, said:

“I came here today to not only promote this bill, but to fight for the freedom of so many survivors. Millions of people, male, female, teenage, children, kids, all are affected by the rise of this image based sexual abuse. This is unacceptable. 

“The TAKE IT DOWN Act will give a voice to victims and provide justice. I want to say thank you to Senator Ted Cruz and his team. Thank you to all the advocates pushing this bill and this legislation. It is vital for the growing of technology. The situation is bigger than politics. 

“This bipartisan bill is to protect America’s children. Thank you to the First Lady and […] the House leadership for understanding how important this issue is and taking time to learn about this vital piece of legislation […]

“It is so inspiring to know that my voice is being heard, giving hope to not only me, to all the many people that have been affected by this. It is truly so amazing how this awful situation has turned into good.”

Ms. Francesca Mani, high school student and advocate for ethical technology and youth empowerment, said:

“Teenagers might not know all the laws, but they do know when something is wrong. Schools need to take immediate serious action to ensure that AI exploitation, harassment and deepfake abuse are met with real consequences. We need laws and with the help of Senator Cruz, Congresswoman Salazar and now the involvement of you, the First Lady, I truly believe we are on track to passing a federal law to protect women and children. Even though AI exploitation can happen to anyone, 96% of victims of AI misuse are women and children, so we are seriously vulnerable, and we do need laws.”

S.C. State Rep. Brandon Guffey, the father of a victim of online sexual extortion and an advocate for legislation to protect future victims, said:

“I can tell you, there’s more than a dozen that I know of that just do not feel comfortable sharing their stories. But I’m witnessing teens constantly take their life, and as you said, Senator Cruz, trying to get an image down, now, granted, I’m just a state representative, but I have a little bit more pull than the average citizen, and I’m able to get some of these taken down occasionally. But that’s generally not the case. And with something such as TAKE IT DOWN, it would allow families to be able to have those images taken down and to have the voice that my son did not have.”

Ms. Breeze Liu, a victim of deepfake pornography and the founder of software to allow victims to identify and remove fake and abusive content, said:

“When it comes to ending online violence, America must lead. The TAKE IT DOWN Act is an essential first step. It creates accountability where there was none before. It ensures that victims can have harmful content removed swiftly, lifting the unbearable burden survivors have long carried…It is time to reclaim our humanity in a digital age. Let history show that when faced with injustice, we did not stand idly by. We fought, we built, we progressed, and we won. Pass this bill, take action. Let us build a digital future that is safe, just, and worthy of the generations to come. Do not let my yesterday become their tomorrow.”

Stefan Turkheimer, Vice President of Public Policy at Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), said:

“Image based sexual abuse is often a part of in-person sexual abuse but often exists on its own. And all these kids that are on the hotline, that are reaching out, they’re suffering the same trauma, the same harm, very similar harm as what happens in person. The difference is that it keeps happening over and over and over again. Every time the image is resurfaced, and all those people on the hotline won’t be able to say is, this ends now. We have a way of stopping it, but the reality is we do not. We do not have good options for those kids […] That ends when this bill passes.”

Background on TAKE IT DOWN Act: 

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 traumatized.

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 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 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.