‘Take It Down Act’ Signed into Law to Combat Deepfakes

Jorge L.
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‘Take It Down Act’ Targets Deepfakes and Revenge Porn
photo via @_techfyle_ / Instagram

President Donald Trump signed the Take It Down Act into law on May 19. This federal legislation directly addresses online image abuse and makes it a crime to share explicit images or videos of someone without their consent, including fake content generated by artificial intelligence, also known as deepfakes.

Trump signed the bill during a public ceremony at the White House Rose Garden. First lady Melania Trump joined him at the event, emphasizing the law’s role in protecting children, families, and adults from digital threats. Lawmakers from both major parties stood in support.

“Children should never have to face this kind of abuse. This law gives them and their families the tools they need,” said the first lady at the ceremony.

The law targets both real and altered sexual content. Deepfake videos, which often falsely depict people in sexual situations, continue to spread quickly across the internet. As a result, the new legislation now requires websites and social platforms to act fast when victims report such abuse.

Here’s what the new law does:

  • Makes it a federal crime to share explicit images or videos without permission
  • Covers AI-generated fake porn and other manipulated sexual content
  • Allows for up to 3 years in prison, with increased penalties if minors are involved
  • Requires websites to remove flagged content within 48 hours
  • Obligates platforms to prevent reuploads of the same harmful material
  • Assigns the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce the law
  • Gives tech companies one year to create systems that meet these standards

Lawmakers introduced the bill following a series of troubling cases. In one example from Texas, a group of teenagers used AI to generate fake images of a classmate, then tried to have her removed from her school’s cheerleading team. Incidents like this pushed Congress to act.

“No one should have to beg a tech company to remove a fake or private image,” Senator Amy Klobuchar, one of the bill’s sponsors, explained. “We finally have a law that makes that right clear.”

Still, not everyone agrees with the law as written. Critics from privacy and digital rights organizations argue that it might encourage platforms to monitor encrypted messages or private chats in order to stay compliant. Additionally, some warn that the law could lead to overreach if companies remove legal content without due process.

Groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Internet Society continue to raise concerns. They argue that without proper safeguards, enforcement could harm free speech or weaken data privacy. These advocates are calling on lawmakers to refine the law in the months ahead.

Even so, the Take It Down Act is now official. The FTC will lead enforcement efforts and ensure that platforms meet the new takedown requirements. Victims of deepfake abuse or revenge porn can now submit takedown requests, and companies must act within 48 hours.

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Jorge Lavalle

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