Trump signs bill criminalizing revenge porn and explicit deepfakes
President Donald Trump signed the Take It Down Act on Monday, a dual law that performs stricter penalties for distributing non -consensual explicit images, including deepfakes and Revenge Porn.
The bill criminalizes the publication of such images, whether they are authentic or AI-regenerated. The person publishing the photos or videos can be confronted with criminal penalties, including fines, imprisonment and refund.
According to the new law, social media companies and online platforms must remove such material within 48 hours of notification from the victim. The platforms must also take steps to remove double content.
Many states have already banned sexually explicit deep fakes and revenge pornography, but this will be the first time that federal supervisors intervene to impose restrictions on internet companies.
“This will be the very first federal law to combat the distribution of explicit, images posted without the permission of the test subjects,” Trump said in the White House on Monday during a law research event. “We will not tolerate sexual exploitation online.”
First Lady Melania Trump lobbyed for the bill, which was sponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Cruz said he was inspired to act after he heard that Snapchat refused for almost a year to remove a depth of a 14-year-old girl generated by AI.
Proponents of free speech and groups for digital rights have expressed their concern and say that the law is overtheless And could lead to censorship of legitimate images, such as legal pornography, as well as government critics.
