A tech law just passed. Could it happen again?

It happened: Congress passed an actual bill addressing Artificial Intelligence harms. Or an actual bill regulating online content. Either way, it was a rare event. Assuming President Donald Trump signs it, the Take It Down Act will create a federal mandate for tech platforms to remove nonconsensual AI-generated porn, offering new protections for victims at a time when the abuse of highly convincing “deepfake” imagery is rapidly growing. The problem with nonconsensual AI porn would seem obvious—though you could say that about a lot of problems with online content. How this bill, in particular, got across the finish line is an illustration of what forces have to converge in Washington right now for any kind of tech bill to pass. Congress has had a lot of chances to pass bills on online content in the past few years, and made a lot of promises to regulate AI. They did none of those things. There were two big differences this time. One is that the tech industry, which has a nearly endless track record of preventing regulations, decided not to fight this one. The other, of course, is the Trump factor. With Republicans in full control of the Senate, it’s hard to say no to Trump family priorities, and this became one when First Lady Melania Trump threw her support behind the bill shortly after her husband returned to office.