The Take It Down Act, legislation that criminalizes the publication of nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfake videos and images, passed the House today and is already on its way to President Trump’s desk.

“The Senate just passed the Take It Down Act,” Trump said in March. “Once it passes the House, I look forward to signing that bill into law.” He added, “And I’m going to use that bill for myself too if you don’t mind because nobody gets treated worse than I do online, nobody.”

The vote went 409-2 today, with two no votes from Republicans. This overwhelming response now means that social media companies and other websites will have 48 hours to remove content when requested to by a member of the public or a public figure. This will include images or videos that have been created or enhanced by artificial intelligence.

Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz called it a “historic win in the fight to protect victims of revenge porn and deepfake abuse.” Cruz believes the act will spare “victims from repeated trauma” while “holding predators accountable.”

Republican Senator Thomas Massie, one of the no votes, disagrees, believing the law could be abused. He wrote on X today, “I’m voting NO because I feel this is a slippery slope, ripe for abuse, with unintended consequences.”

For years now, activists and politicians in the U.S. and abroad have fought laws that will address the proliferation of deepfake images being shared online, often of a sexual nature. Until now, governments have been slow to counteract the distribution of such content, while social media companies have been accused of taking a lax approach to removal. Now, with so many AI products for creating images and videos, it’s feared the proliferation will reach levels previously unimagined.

First Lady Melania Trump, who has supported the legislation from the start, called the act a “powerful statement.”

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

The Electronic Frontier Foundation pointed out that the act could have a chilling effect. Smaller companies concerned over legal action may now introduce filters in their products, which could be flawed. The foundation is also concerned that end-to-end encrypted private messaging systems and cloud storage are not exempt, possibly resulting in a loss of privacy. At the same time, the law may encourage bad-faith takedown requests, hampering journalism and satire.

“While protecting victims of these heinous privacy invasions is a legitimate goal, good intentions alone are not enough to make good policy,” the foundation said in a post. “As currently drafted, the Act mandates a notice-and-takedown system that threatens free expression, user privacy, and due process, without addressing the problem it claims to solve.”

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