WASHINGTON, D.C. — First lady Melania Trump appeared at a Capitol Hill roundtable Monday to advocate for a bill protecting individuals from fake, pornographic videos that are circulated online.

In her first public appearance since President Donald Trump returned to office, the first lady said she hoped to raise awareness of the harm caused by nonconsensual intimate imagery and encouraged lawmakers to pass the Take it Down Act.

What You Need To Know

  • First lady Melania Trump appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday to advocate for the Take it Down Act

  • The act would make it a felony for someone to circulate AI-generated pornographic images of real people online

  • Technology companies would have 48 hours to remove images from their sites after a victim demands it

  • "The Take it Down Act represents a powerful first step toward justice, healing and unity," the first lady said

“In today’s AI-driven world, the threat of privacy breaches is alarmingly high,” Melania Trump said. “As organizations harness the power of our data, the risk of unauthorized access and misuses of personal information escalates.”

Flanked by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who introduced the bipartisan legislation with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and multiple Republican lawmakers, the first lady said she “expected to see more Democrat leaders here with us today to address this serious issue. Surely as adults we can prioritize America’s children ahead of partisan politics.”

Eleven of the bill's 21 co-sponsors are Democrats.

The Take it Down Act would make it a felony for individuals to publish any nonconsensual intimate image online, including fake, lifelike pornographic images of real people. It also requires big tech to have a notice-and-takedown process so the images can be scrubbed from the internet 48 hours after receiving notice from a victim.

Three female victims of AI-generated pornographic images spoke at the roundtable, including two women from Texas and New Jersey who were 14 years old when their likenesses were used to create fake pornographic images that were later circulated online.

“I was 14 years old when a classmate created AI nudes of me from an innocent social media picture,” said Ellison Berry. “I was 14 years old when I was violated all over social media, and I was just 14 years old when my innocence was stripped away.”

Berry said she reached out to her school, who said the situation was out of its control. It was only after her parents reached out to Cruz’s office and his office demanded that the CEO of Snapchat remove the image that it was taken down.

The Senate unanimously passed the Take it Down Act last month, and the House is expected to take up the bill and also pass it quickly.

“As the dark side of technology advances, these unspeakable evils become part of the culture. The law has to keep up, and I’m really grateful that we have thoughtful legislators here who take the reins on this,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.., said at the roundtable. “We are anxious to put it on the floor of the House and get it to President Trump’s desk for his signature.”