Congress passes bill penalizing deepfake pornography

The House of Representatives on Monday passed the Take it Down Act, a bill creating penalties for pornography depicting people without their consent. The bill is now headed to the desk of President Trump, who is likely to sign it. It passed the House in a near-unanimous bipartisan vote, with the support of 409 members. Twenty-two representatives, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, chose not to vote. Two Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Eric Burlison of Missouri, voted against the bill.

How did we get here? The Take it Down Act was first introduced in January by Sen. Ted Cruz, R.-Texas. It prohibits publishing intimate images of a person without his or her consent and covers both real and so-called deepfake or computer-generated images. It also prohibits such publication if the intent is to harm the person depicted in the image, or if the images depict minors sexually.

The bill punishes the the publication of the prohibited types of images with mandatory restitution and criminal penalties including prison and fines. It also penalizes threats to publish such images.

What else does the bill require? The bill says that public websites and forums, including social media platforms, must create a way for people to report inappropriate publication of an intimate image. The bill, which will take effect immediately once signed by the president, types of platforms need to remove an image within 48 hours of receiving a request.

What was the reaction? Cruz on social media thanked abuse victims, including Elliston Berry, for championing the bill. The 15-year-old girl testified that she had suffered from having deepfake pornography images of her posted online. Cruz also thanked Democratic colleagues and First Lady Melania Trump for their cooperation.

Why did Massie and Burlison vote against the bill? Massie posted that the bill left openings for unintended consequences. He attached photos of a Washington Post article that raised concerns about the bill not including an appeal process or penalties for false reports. Burlison did not appear to publicly comment on his decision. Online rights groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation also opposed the bill, saying some provisions were too broad and could lead to the suppression of legally protected speech.

Dig deeper: Read my report on the death of Epstein abuse survivor Virginia Giuffre.