The President has already said he’s going to use it for his own benefit
While President Donald Trump may hold one of the most powerful positions in the world and is making bold efforts to overhaul the American government to supposedly save taxpayers money, it seems he’s already facing significant legal challenges.
The returning POTUS is working towards ushering in a new gilded age for America, and alongside his efforts to cut government spending, he’s also signed an executive order to create a so-called cryptocurrency reserve.
However, even for someone in his position, there are rules to follow—and that’s where trouble arises. One of his most controversial moves, the ‘Take It Down’ Act, is causing some legal headaches. On paper, the Act aims to criminalize nonconsensual intimate imagery (NCII), formerly known as ‘revenge porn,’ including AI-generated content. With deepfakes becoming alarmingly easy to create—like the viral video of Trump and Musk—this move highlights just how complicated the line between innovation and regulation can get.
There’s growing concern that Trump might use the power granted by the ‘Take It Down’ Act as a tool for his own benefit—a concern he hinted at when addressing Congress. On March 4, he told lawmakers, “The Senate just passed the Take It Down Act… Once it passes the House, I look forward to signing that bill into law. And 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.”
Critics of the bill argue that it’s poorly drafted, and if passed, it could put pressure on websites to remove content based purely on personal dislike. The lack of clear definitions surrounding what constitutes nonconsensual intimate imagery (NCII) raises alarms, and experts, like those at The Verge, warn it could spark a constitutional crisis.
Under the proposed Act, social media platforms would be forced to remove flagged content within 48 hours, while also ensuring no duplicate content is reposted. The heavy-handed nature of this regulation feels straight out of an Orwellian nightmare—and those who fail to comply could face lawsuits from the Federal Trade Commission.
Several organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, and the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, have raised concerns with Congress. They argue that the law could be misused to remove consensual adult content or even stifle political journalism, turning what’s intended to be a protective measure into a tool of censorship.
The discussion quickly spilled over onto Reddit, where users raised serious concerns about how the Trump administration might wield the power granted by the ‘Take It Down’ Act. One Redditor, echoing the worries of many, wrote: “View it through the lens of narcissism. Donald Trump lives to be adored and appears to have a severe case of criticism/rejection sensitive dysphoria (said at the risk of being called an armchair psychologist).”
They continued, “Anything that shows a picture different than the one he has in his brain is going to be viewed as bad and evil. It’s an incredibly toxic and dangerous trait to have as a leader.” Another user added: “Give me a break. What he really means is ‘You can’t say anything bad about me! You have to like all the stuff I’m doing, and like liking it.'”
One particularly concerned commenter concluded: “He won’t use it to take down intimate imagery. This entire bill is designed to be abused for anything and everything beyond nonconsensual intimate images. Its lack of safeguards and countermeasures makes it a gun against the head of every website on the internet.”
While some agree that the Take It Down Act could be a step in the right direction if applied properly, history has made it clear that unchecked power can easily be abused, leaving many to question if the bill’s true intentions are as benign as they seem.
