First ladyMelania Trumpmade a rare White House appearance alongside PresidentDonald Trumpon May 19 to sign the "Take it Down Act" into law. Melania Trumphas kept a relatively low profile during her husband's first few months back in office, but has spent time lobbying for the Take it Down Act, which passedCongress with rare bipartisan support. It criminalizes non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including artificial intelligence-created imagery often known asdeepfake recent pornography. "Artificial intelligenceand social media are the digital candy for the next generation, sweet, addictive, and engineered to have an impact on the connectivity development of our children," Melania Trump said at the signing ceremony at the White House. "But unlike sugar, these new technologies can be weaponized to shape beliefs and, sadly, affect emotions and even be deadly." Here is what to know about the first lady and the new law she helped champion. 'They can't take a joke:'Days after Trump defends viral AI pope photo, Pope Leo is chosen The Take it Down Act criminalizes nonconsensual, explicit images created by artificial intelligence, often known as deepfakes. The bill, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, requires technology platforms to remove reported non-consensual sexual imagery within 48 hours, so long as the request is valid. At the bill signing at theWhite House Rose Garden,Melania Trump called the law a "national victory" and thanked Elliston Berry for speaking up and advocating for survivors. Berry was 14 when she was the victim of a nude deepfake that wasn't removed from Snapchat until Cruz's Senate office stepped in. Berry has said she went to the authorities about the image, but they told her it was out of their control. (Snapchatsaid in an April 8 statement it supports the bill.) "Elliston Berry stood boldly for change — despite the risks posed to her and her family by speaking out and making her voice heard. Elliston, your voice — and the voices of so many like you — made this bill a national priority," Melania Trump said. Outside of advocating for the Take it Down Act, she has only made a handful of public appearances since her husband's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025. She spoke at theInternational Women of Courage Awards, attendedPope Francis' funeral(the same day as her 55th birthday), helped host the annualWhite House Easter Egg Roll, and hosted a celebration ofmilitary mothersand astamp unveilinghonoring former first lady Barbara Bush. Donald Trump and model Melania Knauss gotmarried in 2005. They met in 1998, two years after she moved to New York. No. According to theAmerican Presidency Project, Melania Trump did not complete a degree but attended the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia for one year. Yes, she was born in Slovenia and moved to the U.S. in 1996. Slovenia is a country in Eastern Europe between Croatia and Austria. Melania Trump was born as Melanija Knavs but changed her name to Melania Knauss and later Melania Trump. She is the only first lady to become a naturalized citizen and the second first lady born outside the United States. (The first wasLouisa Catherine Adams,married to John Quincy Adams, who was president from 1825-1829.) Contributing: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Maria Francis, Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Melania's Take it Down Act: Law takes aim at revenge porn, deepfakes
