New federal law that cracks down on deepfake revenge porn images inspired by North Texas teen

By Jack Fink

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    WASHINGTON, DC (KTVT) — A North Texas teenager and her mother, who pushed for a new law to crackdown on revenge porn and deepfake images, celebrated during a bill signing ceremony at the White House last Monday.

Elliston Berry, 16, and her mother Anna McAdams, of Aledo, stood next to President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who led the bipartisan effort to pass the bill along with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota.

In an interview for Eye On Politics, Berry said, “Being able to stand up there with the President and First Lady having them sign this bill that is really protecting people is so rewarding, especially because my mom and I spent the last year and a half fighting and getting in contact with people in order to have some sort of security and protection implemented.”

McAdams agreed.

“It was just a full circle moment for both of us, I think, realizing that our voices were heard and now we have protections in place. We never believed that, that could ever happen, and here we are. It was bigger than we ever imagined it to be. We felt so blessed to be there with the President and First Lady,” said McAdams.

The Take It Down Act makes it a federal crime to post and threaten to post real or fake intimate images without a person’s consent. Social media platforms will also have to remove these images within 48 hours of being requested to do so.

This crackdown came after Berry became a victim when a fellow classmate at Aledo High School placed the fake images of her and other girls online, where they remained for nine months. With the help of Senator Cruz, those images were pulled down.

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