WASHINGTON, D.C. (BP) — A bill requiring online platforms to take down non consensual intimate imagery within 48 hours brought a rare sign of Congressional solidarity, with nearly unanimous support for its passage.
The Take It Down Act, sponsored in the Senate by Ted Cruz (R-TX) with co-sponsors Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and 20 others, passed the House Monday (April 28) by a 409-2 vote. President Trump — whose wife, Melania, hosted a White House roundtable in the bill’s support on March 3 — has expressed his intention to sign it into law.
The bill would make it a federal crime to post real or fake sexually explicit imagery of a person without their consent. Offenses involving adults could include fines and imprisonment for up to two years, while those involving minors could include imprisonment up to three years.
“It protects the victims of these non consensual intimate images,” said Cruz. “It also gives you a right to demand that that garbage be taken down because many of the tech platforms refuse to take the content down. This gives a legal right [and] protects young girls and young women, and it’s a huge bipartisan victory.”
The act was originally introduced by Cruz and Klobuchar in June 2024 and has passed the Senate twice, most recently in December in a unanimous vote.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) expressed concerns a year ago about the bill’s scope and unintended consequences before throwing his support behind it after some changes. House Republicans Thomas Massie (KY) and Eric Burlison (MO) were the only two no votes from Monday, with Massie also expressing concerns about “unintended consequences.”
Nonetheless, its passage comes at a time when such imagery is getting another layer with AI capabilities.
“This bipartisan bill is a major step toward protecting children and other victims of the ever-growing realities of deep fake pornography,” said Jason Thacker, assistant professor of philosophy and ethics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Boyce College and senior fellow for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
“AI-generated porn is a great evil that we should all — government, industry, law enforcement and families alike — be able to come together to combat,” he said. “AI tools have been introduced into the wild west of the Internet, and we must do all that we can to protect the vulnerable among us.”
The act received attention at Trump’s address in March to a joint session of Congress, when his wife brought a 15-year-old victim of deepfake abuse and an advocate for the bill as her guest.
“Thank you to [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune and the Senate to criminalize the publication of such images online,” Trump said. “It’s terrible, a terrible, terrible thing. And once it passes the House, I look forward to signing that bill into law.”
Speaker Mike Johnson included comments from Melania Trump in his statement on its passage.
“Today’s bipartisan passage of the Take It Down Act is a powerful statement that we stand united in protecting the dignity, privacy and safety of our children,” the First Lady said on Monday. “I am thankful to the Members of Congress — both in the House and Senate — who voted to protect the well-being of our youth.”
“Southern Baptists have long stood against the plague of pornography in our communities, especially online, and this bill addresses a significant area of concern with emerging technologies,” Thacker said. “Common sense ought to prevail in these efforts, given the devastation intimate deep fake imagery leaves in its wake.
“Hopefully, this bill represents a greater willingness to address a plethora of digital policy issues in a bipartisan way, especially as we seek to shield children and other victims from the dangers of online exploitation.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Scott Barkley is chief national correspondent for Baptist Press.)
