TAKE IT DOWN Act Advances Through The House Energy and Commerce Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Energy and Commerce Committee this week advanced H.R. 633, the bipartisan, bicameral TAKE IT DOWN Act, a bill designed to protect victims of real and deepfake revenge pornography. Introduced by Rep. Maria Salazar (FL-27) and Rep. Madeleine Dean (PA-4), the legislation has already passed the Senate, where it was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN). The bill currently has nearly 40 bipartisan cosponsors in the House.
After passage, Rep. Salazar said:
“This is a huge step towards finally turning this legislation into law. I thank Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie for his constant support and his commitment to getting this bill done. My TAKE IT DOWN Act will finally give innocent victims real protection from online exploitation. Websites and platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok must remove fake, compromising pornographic images within 48 hours or face consequences. No more inaction. No more excuses: if you exploit an innocent child, you will face jail time.”
The TAKE IT Down Act addresses these issues while protecting lawful speech by:
Criminalizing the publication of Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII) or the threat to publish NCII in interstate commerce;
- Protecting good faith efforts to assist victims by permitting the good faith disclosure of NCII for the purpose of law enforcement or medical treatment;
- Requiring websites to take down NCII upon notice from the victims within 48 hours; and
Requiring that computer-generated NCII meet a ‘reasonable person’ test for appearing to realistically depict an individual, so as to conform to current First Amendment jurisprudence.
Last month, Rep. Salazar and Sen. Cruz hosted a roundtable with First Lady Melania Trump, along with members of the House leadership, Chairman Guthrie, and victims of revenge and deepfake pornography. President Trump elevated the legislation during his inaugural Joint Session of Congress, promising to sign the legislation into law.
The legislation has received broad support across the political spectrum. Recently, the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, the largest group of bipartisan House members, announced its endorsement of the bill.
Over 120 organizations representing victim advocacy groups, law enforcement, and tech industry leaders have voiced their support for the TAKE IT DOWN Act, including Meta, Snap, Google, Microsoft, TikTok, X, Amazon, Bumble, Match Group, Entertainment Software Association, IBM, TechNet, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Internet Works, National Fraternal Order of Police, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network), and National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE).