First lady Melania Trump\u00a0spoke on Capitol Hill Monday for the first time since returning to the White House, participating in a roundtable with lawmakers from both chambers of Congress focused on punishing online abuse and revenge pornography.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I am here with you today with a common goal \u2014 to protect our youth from online harm,\u2019 Melania Trump said Monday. \u2018The widespread presence of abusive behavior in the digital domain affects the daily lives of our children, families and communities.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Addressing this issue is essential for fostering a safe and supportive environment for our young people,\u2019 she said. \u2018I hope today\u2019s roundtable builds awareness of the harm caused by nonconsensual intimate imagery and eventually the approval of the Take it Down Act in Congress.\u2019<\/p>\n
The Take it Down Act is a bill introduced in the Senate by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., that would make it a federal crime to publish, or threaten to publish, nonconsensual intimate imagery, including \u2018digital forgeries\u2019 crafted by artificial intelligence. The bill unanimously passed the Senate earlier in 2025, with Cruz saying Monday he believes it will be passed by the House before becoming law.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trump was joined by California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, alongside Republicans such as Cruz, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain, Reps. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., Kevin Hern, R-Okla.<\/p>\n
The bill also would require social media companies, like Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram and similar websites, to put procedures in place to remove such content within 48 hours of notice from the victim.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bill would protect victims of digital exploitation and hold internet platforms accountable by requiring them to remove such imagery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reps. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., and Madeleine Dean, D-Penn., introduced the legislation in the House in January. That measure is under consideration in the House Energy and Commerce Committees before consideration on the House floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018If you\u2019re a victim of revenge porn or AI-generated explicit imagery, your life changes forever,\u2019 Cruz said during the roundtable. \u2018Most likely you\u2019ve been targeted by someone you know, and you\u2019re likely struggling to have that material removed from the internet. Disturbingly, many of these victims are teenagers at American high schools who are facing a surge in AI-generated sexual images hundreds of teens, often targeted by their own classmates, are enduring senseless psychological harm.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018The Take It Down Act empowers victims across the entire United States,\u2019 he continued. \u2018It makes it a felony for these deviants to publish any non-consensual intimate images, including fake, lifelike pornographic images of real people.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
The law would require penalties of up to three years in prison for sharing nonconsensual intimate images \u2014 authentic or AI-generated \u2014 involving minors and two years in prison for those images involving adults. It also would require penalties of up to two and a half years in prison for threat offenses involving minors, and one and a half years in prison for threats involving adults.\u00a0<\/p>\n
AI-generated images known as \u2018deepfakes\u2019 often involve editing videos or photos of people to make them look like someone else by using artifical intelligence. Deepfakes hit the public\u2019s radar in 2017 after a Reddit user posted realistic-looking pornography of celebrities to the platform, opening the floodgates to users employing AI to make images look more convincing and widely shared in the following years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018In today\u2019s AI-driven world, the threat of privacy breaches is alarmingly high,\u2019 Trump explained. \u2018As organizations harness the power of our data, the risk of unauthorized access and misuses of personal information escalates. We must prioritize robust security measures and uphold strict ethical standards to protect individual privacy.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nearly every U.S. state has a law protecting people from nonconsensual intimate image violations, but the laws vary in classification of crime and penalty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The event Monday is the first where the first lady delivered public remarks since President Donald Trump\u2019s Jan. 20 inauguration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Melania Trump was joined on Monday by a 15-year-old girl, Elliston Berry, whose high school peers used AI to create nonconsensual imagery of the young girl and spread them across social media, the first lady explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content, like deepfakes,\u2019 Trump said. \u2018This toxic environment can be severely damaging. We must prioritize their well-being by equipping them with the support and tools necessary to navigate this hostile digital landscape. Every young person deserves a safe online space to express themselves freely, without the looming threat of exploitation or harm.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Berry told the roundtable she was just 14 years old when she realized in 2023 that \u2018a past Instagram photo with a nude body and my face attached made from AI,\u2019 was circulating on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Fear, shock and disgust were just some of the many emotions I felt,\u2019 Berry said. \u2018I felt responsible and began to blame myself and was ashamed to tell my parents. Despite doing nothing wrong. As I attended school, I was scared of the reactions of someone or someone could could recreate these photos.\u2019 \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018We need to hold big tech accountable to take action,\u2019 the young woman continued. \u2018I came here today to not only promote this bill, but to fight for the freedom of so many survivors, millions of people, male, female, teenage children, kids all are affected by the rise of this image based sexual abuse. This is unacceptable. The Take It Down act will give a voice to the victims and provide justice.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the first Trump administration, Trump hosted virtual roundtables on foster care as part of her \u2018Be Best\u2019 initiative and focused on strengthening the child welfare system. The \u2018Be Best\u2019 initiative also focused on online safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018As first lady, my commitment to the \u2018Be Best\u2019 initiative underscores the importance of online safety,\u2019 she said. \u2018In an era where digital interactions are integral to daily life, it is imperative that we safeguard children from mean-spirited and hurtful online behavior.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
During her husband\u2019s first term as president, she also worked with members of Congress on legislation that secured funding for grants awarded to youth and young adults currently or formerly in foster care to help pay for college, career school or training. The bill ultimately was signed by the president in December 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trump gave a nod to\u00a0Democratic Sen. Klobuchar and Republican Sen. Cruz for their bipartisan support of the bill, while remarking she was let down by the lack of additional support from Democrats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I must admit, however, I expected to see more Democrat leaders with us here today to address this serious issue,\u2019 she said. \u2018Surely as adults, we can prioritize America\u2019s children ahead of partisan politics. I urge Congress to prioritize the passage of the Take It Down Act. This legislation is essential for addressing the growing concerns related to online safety, protecting individual rights, and promoting a healthier digital environment.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Congress can take an important step toward ensuring accountability and fostering responsible online behavior,\u2019 she continued. \u2018The Take It Down Act represents a powerful step toward justice, healing and unity.\u2019<\/p>\n
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
First lady Melania Trump\u00a0spoke on Capitol Hill Monday for the first time since returning to the White House, participating in a roundtable with lawmakers from both chambers of Congress focused on punishing online abuse and revenge pornography.\u00a0 \u2018I am here with you today with a common goal \u2014 to protect our youth from online harm,\u2019 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":37137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37136","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}