Technologies
Trump to Sign Bill Banning Deepfakes, Nonconsensual Images: What to Know
The bipartisan ‘Take It Down’ Act passed swiftly in both the Senate and the House, and has been championed by First Lady Melania Trump.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bipartisan Take It Down Act into law on Monday, a significant step in regulating the nonconsensual sharing of intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes. The legislation aims to protect individuals from the harmful effects of such content, which has been increasingly prevalent in the digital age with the expansion of artificial intelligence.
Read more: Jamie Lee Curtis Celebrates Meta’s Removal of Fake AI Ad
What are deepfakes?
Deepfakes are realistic but fake images, videos or audio created using artificial intelligence to mimic someone’s appearance, voice or actions.
One widely reported example was a 2022 viral video of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In the altered clip, Zelenskyy appeared to urge Ukrainian soldiers to surrender to Russian forces, a message he never actually delivered. The video was quickly debunked, but it raised serious concerns about the use of deepfakes in disinformation campaigns, especially during wartime.
Deepfakes have also been used to spread sexually explicit content or revenge porn.
Read more: Election Deepfakes Are Here and Better Than Ever
What are the key aspects of the Take It Down Act?
The Take It Down Act prohibits knowingly sharing or threatening to share intimate images of someone without their permission, including digitally altered or AI-generated deepfakes. Here is a breakdown of the bill and what it targets:
- Criminalization of nonconsensual sharing: The act makes it a federal offense to distribute intimate images without the subject’s consent. The bill applies to both real and AI-generated content.
- Mandatory removal: Online platforms, such as tech and social media sites, are required to remove flagged content, including any copies of the material, within 48 hours of notification by the victim.
- Mandatory restitution: Violators will face mandatory restitution and criminal penalties such as prison time, fines or both.
- Protection of minors: The legislation imposes stricter penalties for offenses involving minors, aiming to provide enhanced safeguards for vulnerable individuals.
- Enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission: The FTC is designated as the primary agency responsible for enforcing the provisions of the act.
Who supports the Take It Down Act?
First Lady Melania Trump has been a vocal advocate for the legislation over the last several months, emphasizing the need to protect children and teenagers from the damaging effects of online exploitation. Her efforts included public appearances and discussions with lawmakers to garner support for the bill.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), gained bipartisan backing, with cosponsors including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). It passed the Senate unanimously in February, followed by House approval in April with a 409-2 vote.
What are the criticisms and concerns about the bill?
While the act has been praised for addressing a growing issue, it has also faced criticism from various groups. Some digital rights organizations express concerns that the law could infringe on privacy and free speech, particularly regarding the potential for false reports and the impact on encrypted communications. There are also apprehensions about the enforcement of the law and its potential misuse for political purposes.
For instance, representatives of The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, a nonprofit that supports victims of online abuse, voiced strong concerns about the bill, according to PBS News. The group criticized the takedown provision as overly broad, vaguely written and lacking clear protections to prevent misuse.
What are the next steps?
Trump is expected to sign the bill Monday at 3 p.m. ET. This act will mark Trump’s sixth bill signed into law so far in his second term. By his 100th day back in office, he had enacted only five, marking the lowest number of new laws signed by a president in the first 100 days of a term since the Eisenhower administration in the 1950s, based on an analysis of congressional records by NBC News.
The signing of the Take It Down Act represents a significant move towards regulating nonconsensual intimate imagery in the digital realm. While it aims to provide greater protection for individuals, ongoing discussions will be essential to address the concerns and ensure the law’s effective and fair implementation.
Technologies
Amazon Is Pulling Support for Kindles From 2012 or Earlier. What to Do Now
If there’s a book you’ve been waiting to read on your old Kindle device, make sure you download it before May 20.
That Kindle device you’ve been holding onto for 15 years now has an expiration date, as Amazon will end support for Kindle models from 2012 or earlier on May 20. An Australian Kindle user first reported the change before Amazon confirmed the news to PCMag and said it will soon email users in the US.
The books that you already downloaded on your Kindle device won’t disappear after next month, but you won’t be able to connect to the network to buy, borrow or download new ones.
If you still have a book that you want to finish reading on one of these devices, make sure that you don’t deregister the device or do a factory reset. In the email shared by an Australian user on Reddit, Amazon says if you deregister or reset the device, you won’t be able to re-register the device or use it at all afterward.
A representative for Amazon has not yet responded to a request to comment from CNET.
The company also included a promo code in the email for 20% off select new Kindle devices and an ebook credit that’s added to your account after you purchase a new device. However, there’s no word on whether this discount is limited to Australia or if a version will be offered to US users.
Switching devices
Kindle devices released in 2012 or earlier will lose the ability to download books after May 20. The devices that will be affected are:
- Kindle 1st and 2nd Generation
- Kindle DX and DX Graphite
- Kindle Keyboard
- Kindle 4
- Kindle Touch
- Kindle 5
- Kindle Paperwhite 1st Generation
The first-generation model for Kindle was released in 2007, and e-readers have improved a bit in the time since. Amazon told Engadget that fewer than 3% of its users still use these old devices.
In the email to customers, the company said users will still be able to access their Kindle library and the Kindle store using the Android, iOS or desktop app. You can still read and download books by using the Kindle app on your phone or PC.
If this service loss feels like a good time to move on from the Kindle world, there are other e-reader options. Calibre is a free, open-source ebook manager that offers a range of features, like reading and organizing ebooks from multiple sources, as well as downloading news articles and websites.
If you’re looking for a newer Kindle model or a different reading tablet, check out the CNET list for this year’s best e-readers.
Technologies
Overwatch’s Next Hero Is Sierra, but Does That Mean the Rumors Were Wrong?
The new damage hero joins the roster next week, but lore and gameplay details are still under wraps.
After adding five new heroes in February, Overwatch just gave players another look at the new hero coming in season 2 next week. While we didn’t get gameplay details, the new hero trailer revealed that hero 51 is Sierra, and season 2 will be titled Summit.
The game dropped its first look at Sierra last week, and a few details in the new artwork seemed to be in line with expectations that she’s an ally of damage hero Ashe. Ashe’s Deadlock Gang is mentioned in the new trailer, although Sierra is working with Overwatch in trying to stop them. We don’t know yet whether Sierra has ties to other Overwatch heroes and factions.
Alec Dawson, Overwatch’s associate game director, said in February that the next hero would be another damage hero with a «really satisfying skill shot,» which we maybe glimpsed in the trailer when Sierra fires some kind of homing dart onto Emre after he steals something from Watchpoint: Grand Mesa. We also see her use a fully automatic rifle as well as tether to her drone for some aerial maneuvering, which could be hints at the rest of her kit.
While I do love a good skillshot, I also feel like the game has been struggling with damage hero releases over the past year — particularly heroes who have the ability to quickly eliminate someone out of nowhere. The newest damage heroes Anran and Emre didn’t have this problem, but the previous two, Freja and Vendetta, were consistently banned after release because of their quick time to kill, combined with their ability to consistently surprise enemies. I’m hoping Sierra’s skillshot is less bursty.
Even before the art was revealed last week, fans had started to speculate that Overwatch’s season 2 hero would be Frankie, a member of Ashe’s Deadlock Gang. She appeared in the Deadlock Rebels novel by Lyndsay Ely, which follows Ashe and the hero now known as Cassidy early in their outlaw careers. In the book, Frankie makes contact with the two characters by sending them a tiny fly-like drone — perhaps a smaller version of the drone in Sierra’s character art.
Respectfully… y’all aren’t ready for this one 😮💨🔥
Join us Apr 8 at 9am PT for the premiere of our latest Hero Trailer as we kick off the next chapter in the Reign of Talon 💪 pic.twitter.com/1Etxn68tax— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) March 31, 2026
The trailer shows Sierra working to stop the Deadlock Gang (who are helping Emre and Freja steal weapons for Talon), but it’s unclear whether Sierra is another character entirely or whether she’s Frankie after taking a different path.
The game’s Reign of Talon season 1 is wrapping up in the next week. The current season kicked off the year-long storyline about Vendetta taking over Talon and also introduced five new heroes into the roster. Devs have promised another new hero each season during the storyline, and today’s hero trailer gives us a few more hints about Sierra.
Technologies
Samsung Could Introduce a New Pro Model in the Galaxy S27 Lineup
A report claims Samsung’s expanding its flagship offerings to four phones.
Samsung may add a new Galaxy S27 model to its flagship phone lineup, aiming to compete directly with Apple’s four-model range. The report, from South Korean tech site Electronic Times, says industry insiders expect Samsung to increase the number of high-end flagship models by introducing a «Pro» version that shares similarities with the Ultra handset.
If launched, the Pro would fall between the Plus and Ultra models. The report states that the display size on the new model hasn’t been finalized, but it will lack the S Pen functionality that has largely defined the Ultra series. It’s expected to share more features with the Ultra than the standard and Plus models, with the Privacy Display introduced with the Galaxy S26 Ultra specifically being called out for the new model.
A representative for Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Samsung actually released a fourth model of its flagship smartphone series in 2025 with Galaxy S25. Called the Galaxy S25 Edge, the ultrathin smartphone was aesthetically pleasing but apparently sold poorly, which may be why there was no release of a Galaxy S26 Edge this year. Switching to a more standard Pro model might be the safer move.
The expansion of its high-end model may do Samsung some good. As of now, if you want the absolute best Galaxy smartphone available, it’s undoubtedly the Ultra model, which features a massive 6.9-inch display. This matches the current size of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which is simply too big for some people. The difference here, and this may be the case with the upcoming Galaxy lineup, is that Apple has a smaller Pro model that shares a majority of the features that are available on the Max version.
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