Trump signs bill championed by first lady that removes revenge porn from social media

President Trump signed the “Take It Down Act” into law Monday, an initiative pushed by first lady Melania Trump to crack down on revenge porn on social media.

The bill criminalizes the publication of intimate images without consent, including images made through artificial intelligence or “deepfakes.”

The new law requires social media companies and other websites to remove images and videos within 48 hours once a victim requests it.

After Mr. Trump signed the bill, he handed the pen to Mrs. Trump to sign it as well.

He also thanked his wife for her leadership on the issue.

“It’s my honor to officially sign the ’Take It Down Act’ into law. It’s a big thing – very important. It’s so horrible what takes place,” the president said. “This will be the first ever federal law to combat the distribution of explicit imagery posted without the subject’s consent.”

Mrs. Trump called the signing of the bill a “national victory that will help parents and families protect children from online exploitation.”

“This legislation is a powerful step forward in our effort to ensure that every American, especially young people, can feel better protected from their image or identity being abused,” she said.

“Artificial intelligence and social media are the digital candy for the next generation — sweet, addictive and engineered to have an impact on the cognitive development of our children,” she said. “But unlike sugar, these new technologies can be weaponized, shape beliefs and, sadly, affect emotions and even be deadly.”

Digital rights groups argue that the bill’s requirement of the removal of the images may conflict with the First Amendment and cause undue censorship.

In her remarks, Mrs. Trump commended Elliston Berry, the 15-year-old victim of deepfakes created by a classmate, who accompanied the first lady on Capitol Hill as she pressed lawmakers to support the bill.

The first lady commended the teenager who “stood boldly for change despite the risk posed to her and her family by speaking out and making her voice heard.”

“Elliston, your voice and the voices of so many like you, made this bill a national priority,” Mrs. Trump said.

She thanked the bipartisan group of lawmakers that helped pass the bill “for coming together to prioritize people over politics.”

Mrs. Trump said her husband’s signature on the bill is “not where our work ends on this issue” and called on the Federal Trade Commission and the private sector to “do their part.”

Mrs. Trump made her first public appearance since retaking her role as first lady in March when she went to Capitol Hill to lobby House members to pass the bill.

It passed the House last month, after getting through the Senate in February.