Deepfake nudes are the perfect issue for Melania Trump to take on: It's bipartisan and everyone agrees it's a problem.
Melania Trump is supporting a bill that aims to stop AI-generated nudes.
Deepfake nudes are a growing issue in schools that is affecting young people — especially girls.
This is a perfect issue for the first lady to take up: It's bipartisan and relevant.
Melania Trump appeared at a roundtable on Capitol Hill on Monday to support a proposed bill that would tackle the issue of nonconsensual sexual images, especially deepfake nudes.
This is a perfect issue for the first lady to take on. It's bipartisan — and is something everyone agrees is awful and a scourge to young people.
It also hits a rare sweet spot of retaining some anti-tech and anti-AI feelings without actually impeding Big Tech. (In fact, Big Tech companies like Meta and TikTok have supported the bill.)
Nonconsensual sexual images created with AI, or deepfake nudes, have exploded as an issue in high schools and even in middle schools, where images are created to harass and shame peers. It's especially affected young women, although it's also affected boys.
People have created sexualized images and videos of celebrities for years by using photo-editing software, but AI has made it that much easier. There are "nudify" apps that do this with just a few taps. 404 Media has reported on how Instagram has struggled to take down ads for these kinds of apps, which are against Meta's rules.
On Monday, Thorn, an organization that advocates against online child sexual abuse and exploitation, published a report based on its survey of 13-to-20-year-olds: It said one out of eight young people who responded said they knew someone personally who had been a victim of a deepfake nude image. These images, sickeningly, put a victim's real face on an AI-generated body.
"By closing a key legal gap, this bill criminalizes the knowing distribution of intimate visual depictions of minors — whether real or AI-generated — when shared with intent to harm, harass, or exploit," Emily Slifer, Thorn's director of policy, told Business Insider.
For the people affected, such images can be devastating. The New York Times called the issue an "epidemic" in a story about how AI images have wreaked havoc in suburban high schools and middle schools. During Monday's roundtable, several young women shared their experiences.
In the past, Melania Trump has rarely gotten involved in the weeds of legislation, so putting her weight behind this bill sends a signal. Using her prominent position, she can push for action that actually will make a difference.
The "Take It Down Act," a bill introduced by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, along with a bipartisan group of senators, including Democrat Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, would criminalize publishing these kinds of nonconsensual images and make it easier for victims to get images removed quickly.
During Donald Trump's first presidency, the first lady launched a "Be Best" initiative, which was aimed at stopping online bullying. At the time, the amorphous slogan and the fact that the president himself was no stranger to hurling insults on social media made it a bit of a punchline among some people.
But in the last two years, the effect of social media on teen mental health and the dangers of a "phone-based childhood" have become front-of-mind issues for parents and regulators. The timing for the return of Be Best is perfect.
"As first lady, my commitment to the Be Best initiative underscores the importance of online safety," Melania Trump said during the roundtable with Cruz and others. "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."
Cyberbullying is actually quite complicated.
For social platforms, there's a tension between banning people for being jerks online and upholding the values of free speech. Elon Musk's X and now Mark Zuckerberg's Meta platforms have both loosened policies around speech that some people, including me, would consider abhorrent — like anti-trans slurs.
But some stuff, of course, should clearly not be allowed — like child sexual abuse material, or sexualized photos that are either fake or used without someone's consent. It makes sense for Melania Trump to say that out loud.
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