A bill requiring online platforms to take down nonconsensual 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.
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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.
‘Bipartisan victory’
“It protects the victims of these nonconsensual intimate images,” Cruz said. “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-New Jersey) 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 (Kentucky) and Eric Burlison (Missouri) 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.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Scott Barkley and originally published by Baptist Press.
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