A bill backed by first lady Melania Trump on stopping online abuse was overwhelmingly passed in the House of Representatives.

In a 409-2 vote, the TAKE IT DOWN Act passed in the House and will head to President Donald Trump for a signature, making into law the bill introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., in the Senate, where it unanimously passed earlier this year.

“Advancing this legislation has been a key focus since I returned to my role as First Lady this past January,” Melania Trump wrote on X. “I am honored to have contributed to guiding it through Congress. By safeguarding children from hurtful online behavior today, we take a vital step in nurturing our leaders of tomorrow.”

PASSED: Take It Down Act
Advancing this legislation has been a key focus since I returned to my role as First Lady this past January. I am honored to have contributed to guiding it through Congress.

By safeguarding children from hurtful online behavior today, we take a vital… https://t.co/1DfwrdUhIQ

— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 28, 2025

According to the bill summary, the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks “generally prohibits the nonconsensual online publication of intimate visual depictions of individuals, both authentic and computer-generated, and requires certain online platforms to promptly remove such depictions upon receiving notice of their existence.”

The bill “prohibits the online publication of intimate visual depictions” of:

• an adult subject where publication is intended to cause or does cause harm to the subject, and where the depiction was published without the subject’s consent or, in the case of an authentic depiction, was created or obtained under circumstances where the adult had a reasonable expectation of privacy; or
• a minor subject where publication is intended to abuse or harass the minor or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.

“Violators are subject to mandatory restitution and criminal penalties, including prison, a fine, or both,” the bill summary notes. “Threats to publish intimate visual depictions of a subject are similarly prohibited under the bill and subject to criminal penalties.”

Earlier tonight, the House passed my bill, the TAKE IT DOWN Act.

It is now headed to @POTUS’s desk.

This bill empowers young women and men who are victims of the scourge of deepfake and revenge non-consensual intimate imagery, which is a huge victory for all Americans online. pic.twitter.com/8mpNlcxjCO

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 28, 2025

GOP Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Eric Burlison of Missouri voted against the measure on Monday.

Tonight we’re voting on the “TAKE IT DOWN Act,” a bill that would impose federal criminal and civil penalties for publishing unauthorized intimate pictures generated with AI.

I’m voting NO because I feel this is a slippery slope, ripe for abuse, with unintended consequences. pic.twitter.com/i3XhWTibP8

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 28, 2025

“The passage of the TAKE IT DOWN Act is a historic win in the fight to protect victims of revenge porn and deepfake abuse,” Cruz wrote on X where he thanked the “heroic survivors” and specifically named FLOTUS and others for “locking arms in this critical mission to protect Americans from online exploitation.”

The passage of the TAKE IT DOWN Act is a historic win in the fight to protect victims of revenge porn and deepfake abuse.

This victory belongs first and foremost to the heroic survivors who shared their stories and the advocates who never gave up.

By requiring social media…

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) April 28, 2025

The first lady spoke on Capitol Hill last month as she addressed the importance of passing the legislation “to protect our youth from online harm.”

BE BEST:
“I am here with you today with a common goal – to protect our youth from online harm. The widespread presence of abusive behavior in the digital domain affects the daily lives of our children, families, and communities.”
First Lady Melania Trump
Be Best Roundtable on… pic.twitter.com/UCETDXELY8

— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) March 3, 2025