The Deep View: US AI legislation … anything but clear-cut

Posted on April 30, 2025 by michelleclarke2015
The first piece of US AI legislation hits Trump’s desk – it’s anything but clear-cutSource: Unsplash

The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed (409-2) what could amount to the country’s first official foray into AI-related legislation.The “Take It Down” Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in January by Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), covers two main areas: first, it would criminalize the nonconsensual publication of “intimate” imagery, specifically including that which is generated artificially, and second, it would require digital platforms to remove such instances of that imagery within 48 hours of receiving verified reports from victims. 

President Donald Trump endorsed the bill during a joint session address in March, saying that he is looking “forward to signing it into law.” Fundamentally, the Take It Down Act was offered up as one of several legislative remedies to the crisis of deepfake pornography, something that had been around for years before ChatGPT kicked off a proliferation of cheap, accessible and realistic generative AI tools. 

Deepfake technology thus entered into the hands of the masses, and the results have been predictably horrifying: instances of deepfake sexual harassment, specifically targeting young women and girls, have spread across middle- and high-school campuses and social media alike, impacting both teens and Taylor Swift alike. Of the laws offered up in the wake of this crisis, this is the only piece of legislation to reach the President’s desk; the Defiance Act, which passed the Senate nearly a year ago, was never introduced to the House. 

It’s unclear how platforms intend to establish the infrastructure needed to accommodate the legislation.

Neither Meta nor Google responded to requests for comment.

The good, and the bad: While a number of groups have lauded the bill for the protections it offers, many more have expressed a variety of concerns with the letter of the law, here. In a statement published on Monday, the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) welcomed “the long-overdue federal criminalization of NDII (nonconsensual distribution of intimate images), but said that “we regret that it is combined with a takedown provision that is highly susceptible to misuse and will likely be counter-productive for victims.

”The CCRI has a couple of problems with the legislation, namely that it doesn’t provide any safeguards for false complaints. “It would be entirely possible for a platform to be overwhelmed with reports of content that are not intimate visual depictions at all.”Further, a failure to “reasonably” comply with takedown requests will be subject to enforcement by the FTC under the FTC Act, something that has the CCRI concerned based on the recent politicization of the organization. 

In March, Trump said: “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.”Slade Bond, a former Department of Justice official, however, said that the legislation’s definitions are narrow enough that the Act would make a “poor tool for politicized enforcement.

”The Electronic Frontier Foundation, meanwhile, has said that the bill, beyond increasing risks of censorship, puts encrypted messaging services (like Signal) at risk, since they — unlike email providers — are not excluded from the provisions of the legislation. “How could such services comply with the takedown requests mandated in this bill? Platforms may respond by abandoning encryption entirely in order to be able to monitor content — turning private conversations into surveilled spaces,” EFF wrote.  
There’s an app for that: Meta on Tuesday launched a stand-alone version of its AI assistant in the form of its Meta AI App. Built with Llama 4, the app brings Meta into more direct competition with OpenAI.In the red: Shares of Snap tumbled 11% in after-hours trading despite a strong earnings report, due to the company’s decision not to offer second-quarter guidance in the face of macroeconomic uncertainties. But the broader market had another good-ish day following hints that a trade deal with an unnamed country is close to being signed.
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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