ETtech Explainer: Wife by his side, Trump makes it a crime to share explicit images with Take It Down Act

US president Donald Trump on Monday signed the Take It Down Act into law during a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden, joined by First Lady Melania Trump. The law makes it a federal crime to share intimate or explicit images of a person without their consent, whether real or created using artificial intelligence.

“With the rise of AI image generation, countless women have been harassed with deepfakes and other explicit images distributed against their will,” Trump said while signing the bill, according to AFP. “And today we’re making it illegal… Anyone who intentionally distributes explicit images without the subject’s consent will face up to three years in prison.”

First lady’s campaign for online safety

After signing the bill, Trump handed it to Melania Trump for a symbolic signature, recognising her role in advocating for the legislation. Calling the law a “national victory”, the First Lady said it would help parents and families protect children from online exploitation.

“It’s heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content like deepfakes. This toxic environment can be severely damaging,” she said during the bill’s introduction in March.

The first lady also warned about the influence of digital tools on children, calling artificial intelligence and social media “digital candy for the next generation — sweet, addictive and engineered to have an impact on the cognitive development of our children”.

What the law covers

The Take It Down Act makes it illegal to knowingly share intimate images online without consent, including content generated with AI tools. The law also states that consent to create such images does not imply permission to share them.Websites and social media platforms must take down the content and its duplicates within 48 hours of a victim’s request.

The bill was introduced in 2024 by Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota. It passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in April, with a 409-2 vote in the House.

Tech backing

Tech firms such as Meta, TikTok and Snapchat have publicly supported the law. However, some digital rights groups have raised concerns about the potential for over-removal of legal content and misuse through false takedown claims.

The legislation comes in response to a wave of high-profile cases involving AI-generated explicit images of celebrities and teenagers. It marks the first federal law aimed at protecting adults from such abuse and at holding platforms accountable for harmful content.