Take It Down Act nears passage; critics warn Trump could use it against enemies

Rep. John James (R-Mich.) called the amendment a "thinly veiled delay tactic" and "nothing less than an attempt to derail this very important bill." The amendment was defeated in a 28-22 vote.

Democrats support bill despite losing amendment votes

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) said she strongly supports the bill but offered an amendment that she said would tighten up the text and close loopholes. She said her amendment "ensures constitutionally protected speech is preserved by incorporating essential provisions for consensual content and matters of public concern. My goal is to protect survivors of abuse, not suppress lawful expression or shield misconduct from public accountability."

Dingell's amendment was also defeated in a 28-22 vote.

Pallone pitched an amendment that he said would "prevent bad actors from falsely claiming to be authorized from making takedown requests on behalf of someone else." He called it a "common sense guardrail to protect against weaponization of this bill to take down images that are published with the consent of the subject matter of the images." The amendment was rejected in a voice vote.

The bill was backed by RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), which praised the committee vote in a statement yesterday. "We've worked with fierce determination for the past year to bring Take It Down forward because we know—and survivors know—that AI-assisted sexual abuse is sexual abuse and real harm is being done; real pain is caused," said Stefan Turkheimer, RAINN's VP of public policy.

Cruz touted support for the bill from over 120 organizations and companies. The list includes groups like NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), along with various types of advocacy groups and tech companies Microsoft, Google, Meta, IBM, Amazon, and X Corp.

"As bad actors continue to exploit new technologies like generative artificial intelligence, the Take It Down Act is crucial for ending the spread of exploitative sexual material online, holding Big Tech accountable, and empowering victims of revenge and deepfake pornography," Cruz said yesterday.