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Today β€” 19 May 2025Main stream

Trump, alongside first lady, to sign bill criminalizing revenge porn and AI deepfakes

President Donald Trump is set to sign the Take It Down Act β€” a bill that punishes internet abuse involving nonconsensual, explicit imagery.Β 

The president is scheduled to sign the bill from the White House Monday afternoon, joined by first lady Melania Trump, who has been championing the issue since her husband's inauguration.Β 

The Take It Down Act is a bill introduced in the Senate by Sens.Β Ted Cruz,Β R-Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., that would make it a federal crime to publish, or threaten to publish, nonconsensual intimate imagery, including "digital forgeries" crafted by artificial intelligence. The bill unanimously passed the Senate in February, and passed in the House of Representatives in April with a vote of 409–2.Β 

MELANIA TRUMP SPEAKS ON CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST TIME IN ROUNDTABLE FOCUSED ON PUNISHING REVENGE PORN

The law would require penalties of up to three years in prison for sharing nonconsensual intimate images β€” authentic or AI-generated β€” involving minors and two years in prison for those images involving adults. It also would require penalties of up to two and a half years in prison for threat offenses involving minors, and one and a half years in prison for threats involving adults.Β 

The bill would require social media companies, like Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and similar platforms, to put procedures in place to remove such content within 48 hours of notice from the victim.Β 

AI-generated imagesΒ known as "deepfakes" often involve editing videos or photos of people to make them look like someone else by using artificial intelligence. Deepfakes hit the public’s radar in 2017 after a Reddit user posted realistic-looking pornography of celebrities to the platform, opening the floodgates to users employing AI to make images look more convincing and widely shared in the following years.Β 

Right now, nearly every U.S. state has a law protecting people from nonconsensual intimate image violations, but the laws vary in classification of crime and penalty.Β 

In March, the first lady spoke on Capitol Hill for the first time since returning to the White House to participate in a roundtable with lawmakers and victims of revenge porn and AI-generated deepfakes.Β 

The first lady invited 15-year-old Elliston Berry, whose high school peers used AI to create nonconsensual imagery of her and spread them across social media.Β 

"It’s heartbreaking to witness young teens, especially girls, grappling with the overwhelming challenges posed by malicious online content, like deepfakes," Trump said. "This toxic environment can be severely damaging. We must prioritize their well-being by equipping them with the support and tools necessary to navigate this hostile digital landscape. Every young person deserves a safe online space to express themselves freely, without the looming threat of exploitation or harm."Β 

REVENGE PORN BILL BACKED BY MELANIA TRUMP HEADS TO PRESIDENT'S DESK AFTER OVERWHELMING HOUSE VOTE

Berry, a Texas native, told the roundtable she was just 14 years old when she realized in 2023 thatΒ "a past Instagram photo with a nude body and my face attached made from AI," was circulating on social media.Β 

"Fear, shock and disgust were just some of the many emotions I felt," Berry said. "I felt responsible and began to blame myself and was ashamed to tell my parents. Despite doing nothing wrong. As I attended school, I was scared of the reactions of someone or someone could recreate these photos." Β 

"We need to hold big tech accountable to take action," the young woman continued. "I came here today to not only promote this bill, but to fight for the freedom of so many survivors, millions of people, male, female, teenage children, kids all are affected by the rise of this image-based sexual abuse. This is unacceptable. The Take It Down act will give a voice to the victims and provide justice."Β 

Another young girl, Francesca Mani of New Jersey, recounted that she also was just 14 when she and other peers found deepfake images on themselves online.Β 

"Teenagers might not know all the laws, but they do know when something is wrong," Mani said. "Schools need to take immediate, serious action to ensure that AI exploitation, harassment and deepfake abuse are met with real consequences."Β 

The first lady invited the young women as her special guests for Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress in March. Β 

Sharing nonconsensual and AI-generated explicit images on social media and the internet has not just affected young girls, as young boys and adults also face similar crimes. A woman named Breeze Liu told the roundtable that she worked tirelessly to remove AI-generated images of herself that landed on a pornography site in 2020 when she was 24 years old.Β 

And Republican South Carolina state Rep. Brandon Guffey also joined the group of lawmakers and the first lady in March, recounting how his 17-year-old son committed suicide in 2022 after he was caught up in a sextortion scam.Β 

"I lost my oldest son, Gavin Guffey, to suicide," he shared. "We quickly found out that he was being extorted online. That someone pretending to be a young female at another college requested images to be shared back and forth. And as soon as he shared those images, he took his life. It was an hour and 40 minutes from the time that he was contacted until the time that he took his life."Β 

Meanwhile, during the first Trump administration, Melania Trump hosted virtual roundtables on foster care as part of her "Be Best" initiative and focused on strengthening the child welfare system. The "Be Best" initiative also focused on online safety.Β 

"As first lady, my commitment to the β€˜Be Best’ initiative underscores the importance of online safety," she said. "In an era where digital interactions are integral to daily life, it is imperative that we safeguard children from mean-spirited and hurtful online behavior."Β 

The first lady, in March, said the bill "represents a powerful step toward justice, healing and unity."

Google releases its NotebookLM mobile app

19 May 2025 at 11:53

Google’s NotebookLM app for Android is out now, as reported by 9to5Google, and is expected to launch for iOS and iPadOS on May 20th, according to the app’s App Store listing.

The app appears to offer similar functionality to the desktop version of NotebookLM, including the ability to upload sources of information that the app can summarize. It can also make AI-generated, podcast-like Audio Overviews.

With the app, you can listen to those Audio Overviews in the background while you’re doing other things on your phone or while offline, Google says. Might be a handy way to get caught up on your performance review.

The company teased the launch of the mobile app for the AI-powered tool last month. Its official arrival is happening just ahead of Google I/O, which kicks off with the opening keynote at 1PM ET on Tuesday. It’s probably going to be an AI show.

My mom had one rule for me: 'Don't fall in love and move away.' I now live 5 minutes from her and am full of regret.

19 May 2025 at 11:27
Alison Meyer with her daughter on the beach
Alison Meyer with her daughter on the beach.

Courtesy of Alison Meyer

  • I live about five minutes from my mom and have never really left.
  • I dream about living far away in Australia or Mexico, but my anxiety prevents me from leaving.
  • I'm raising my child differently. I hope she doesn't consider my feelings when choosing where to live.

Over breakfast, a friend told me she wished she'd slept around more before getting married. I passed the syrup and nodded, then surprised myself by saying, "I wish I'd moved around more."

I live in Denver, about five minutes away from my mom. And I've never really left.

I went to college an hour away. I traveled a little in my 20s, but never for long, and always with the knowledge that I'd return.

"Don't fall in love and move away" was my mother's one rule before any trip. And I followed that rule.

Never mind that my parents moved away from their small towns in Indiana in their 20s, or that my close friends from high school moved to London and Sydney. Their lives make me feel a complicated mix of envy and awe.

Of course, I've felt the call to move. One of my favorite activities on vacation is to look at homes nearby for sale on Zillow. Cannon Beach, Oregon; Sydney, Australia; Guanajuato, Mexico; even the Twin Cities β€” they're all places I've visited and thought, "I could live here."

But that's not my lot in life.

Responsibility was baked into my childhood

Alison Meyer in Sydney
Alison Meyer in Sydney.

Courtesy of Alison Meyer

Clinically, it might be called "parentification" or "codependence," but I knew it as love.

My dad struggled with mental illness and holding a job. He was exciting but also known to bankrupt us with one manic trip to Williams and Sonoma.

My kid sister had chronic health issues. My mom worked for a nonprofit and, despite her best efforts, we struggled financially.

Being the oldest daughter, I was the one who took myself to school and kept things quiet at home when they needed to be. I sat beside my sister in hospital rooms and explained to teachers why my parents couldn't come to conferences.

Walking on eggshells and anticipating people's needs are what I know.

My parents might have seen my decision to stay as an act of love, but it was also driven by my own anxiety and the gnawing feeling that if I left, my family might fall apart.

I believed my presence would prevent disaster. That by staying nearby, I could keep the people I loved safe.

So I stayed.

Now, I'm a mom myself

My daughter is seven and she's already making plans to leave.

When she grows up, she wants to design a house to live in with her best friend and "lots of cats." She's considering Vail or maybe California.

Like my mother, I also (secretly) hope that my daughter will live near me forever. I even considered delaying her start in kindergarten just to get an extra year with her, but didn't go through with it.

When she grows up, I think I need to be nearby in case she needs me. There's that codependence again β€” but I catch myself.

More than anything, I hope my daughter grows up without my same anxiety and has the peace of mind to leave, if she wants.

I want her to trust that she's allowed to grow out of me and her dad. If she never once considers my feelings when choosing where to live, I'll have succeeded (and hate it).

I regret never moving away, but I have found the silver lining

I attend family dinners and get to watch my nephews grow up β€” not in jarring leaps between holidays, but in the slow unfolding of ordinary days.

I know what they look like when they're sleepy before bedtime or proud from playing a tough soccer game. My kid knows her grandparents, and someone is always around to lend a rake or give a hug.

I didn't move. I bought into the idea that love meant staying close. However, I hope my daughter knows that love knows no boundaries. It can mean building a full and joyful life from anywhere β€” and that I'll be just fine watching her go.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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