Burlison one of only two Congress member to vote against revenge porn bill

Seventh District Congressman Eric Burlison was one of only two members of the U. S. House of Representatives to vote against the Take It Down Bill, which outlaws revenge porn and computer-generated deep fakes.

The bill authorizes criminal penalties and requires that such videos be taken down within 48 hours of notification.

Burlison issued the following statement to KOLR:

“Sharing non-consensual intimate imagery is abhorrent, but this bill unnecessarily federalizes the criminalization of conduct that states already have laws against, and many of them already have laws tailored to address AI-generated deepfakes. 

As such, creating a new federal offense is both redundant and constitutionally problematic. The further federalization of criminal law in this way undermines state authority, blurs lines of accountability, and risks duplicative prosecutions. 

Furthermore, while the bill attempts to safeguard free speech with a ‘reasonable person’ test, I remain concerned about its impact on First Amendment rights and the unchecked growth of federal power.”