Take It Down

take it down

Congress’ message on vengeful deepfake pornography is clear: Take. It. Down.

When Elliston Berry was 14, a boy in her class used AI to create deepfake images of her, which were shared with classmates. This traumatic experience caused her intense mental distress, as it does to many impacted individuals; victims often report suffering anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

While this story is heartbreaking, it is – tragically – happening nationwide. As AI advances and brings with it several productive, practical applications, it can also be weaponized against even young children in damaging ways.

“I knew I could never go back and undo what he did, but I wanted to do anything to help prevent this from happening to others,” Elliston said in a news release.

And that is exactly what she did.

Alongside other victims and our wonderful First Lady Melania Trump, Elliston began advocating for federal legislation to protect victims of AI deepfake pornography online. I first heard Elliston’s story when she participated in a roundtable event with the First Lady to advocate for legislative action, and hearing her account is part of what inspired me to support the Take It Down Act.

The idea behind this bill is as simple as it is impactful. The Take It Down Act protects victims from deepfake pornography by criminalizing the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), protecting good faith efforts to assist victims, and requiring websites to take down NCII upon notice from the victim, while ensuring that lawful speech is protected.

Through this bill, bad actors will be held accountable for creating NCII and victims will have an avenue to justice. This bipartisan, common-sense bill recently passed the Senate, and I am proud to say that this week the House sent the Take it Down Act to President Trump’s desk for his signature.

I want to thank the First Lady for her advocacy and every single brave victim who gave their pain a purpose by speaking up and influencing change on the federal level. This would not have been possible without their courage, and I thank them for making the internet safer for future generations.

As a father and grandfather, I want to ensure that my family is protected from criminal and harmful online activity. There is still a lot of progress to be made, but parents can have the peace of mind of knowing that if their child is ever subjected to NCII, they will have a legal pathway to take it down.

buddy's briefing

In this week's edition of Buddy's Briefing, we are discussing the very successful first 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency.

From our nation's capitol cdxcxiv

Monday, April 28, 2025: After being away from Washington for our traditional two-week Spring Work Period, I am back in our Nation’s Capital this morning prepared for what may be the most intense few weeks that I have experienced in my Congressional career. With budget reconciliation and extending President Trump’s tax cuts the main focus of our work now, and with the Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee- specifically the Health Subcommittee of E&C which I chair- responsible for most of the savings and policy changes we need to identify, my role is becoming more important. In fact, my first meeting this week is a Republican member meeting of the E&C Committee to continue our discussion of the various savings and policies that can be achieved through our committee’s broad jurisdiction and how receptive our members will be to these proposals. The meeting lasts the entire afternoon until we break for our first vote series of the week. After votes, I remain in the House Chamber where I pay tribute to Charles Rinkevich, a former director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco who recently passed. Afterwards, I head back to our E&C Republican member meeting that lasts late into the evening.

Rep. Carter pays tribute to Charles Rinkevich

Tuesday, April 29, 2025: I’m at the White House this morning as I am assisting constituents to gain access for a tour and afterwards head downtown where I am honored to be the keynote speaker for the American College of Physicians (ACP) fly in event. ACP members include internal medicine physicians and it is the largest medical specialty organization in the U.S. Next, I head back to Capitol Hill and head to our weekly GOP Conference meeting before heading to the House Chamber where I pay tribute to Gus Bassani, Jim Smith and Dave Sparks, who are all with Professional Compounding Centers of America (PCCA), a leading supplier of pharmacy chemicals, equipment and compounding education. Afterwards, I head to an E&C full committee markup on health bills and, since I’m Chair of the Health Subcommittee, find myself very busy responding to the other side’s concerns. Although the markup lasts most of the day, I am able to meet with a few groups including the Biotech Consortium for Advancing Innovation (BCAI) to discuss changes at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), GATX, a leading railcar leasing company with facilities in Waycross in our district, the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) to discuss biomass, former Team Carter member Josh Campbell, who is now with the Department of Energy (DOE), MANA Nutrition, a provider of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF), and Owen Mumford, a global leader in medical device design and manufacture. We also pause the mark-up for our first vote series and finish the mark-up right before our second vote series later in the afternoon.

Rep. Carter speaks to ACP

Wednesday, April 30, 2025: I’m back downtown this morning as I speak to the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) at their annual fly in and bring them up to date on pharmacy issues in Washington. During the drive back to the Capitol, I call in to the Chris Salcedo radio show where we discuss President Trumps first 100 days in office and tariffs. Once back in our office, I have a virtual call with our district staff before heading to an E&C Communications and Technology (C&T) Subcommittee hearing on global networks. Once back in our office, I film a video for the Chatham Emergency Management Association (CEMA) before having a virtual interview with WTOC-TV to discuss President Trumps first 100 days in office. Next, I head to the House Chamber where I pay tribute to the City of Thomasville for being named one of the best small towns in the South, former Effingham County Commission Chairman Wesely Corbitt for his 8 years of service, Sue Else who is retiring as CEO of the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, and Dr. Thomas Burton Merritt who recently passed. Once back in our office, I meet with Gainwell, the fiscal agent for the Georgia Department of Community Health followed by members of the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) before heading off Capitol Hill for a meeting. Once back in our office, I meet with RazorMetrics, a healthcare technology company, and then with members of NCPA who are on Capitol Hill this afternoon. Later in the afternoon, I head to the White House where I am honored to join other members of the House and Senate at the press conference hosted by President Trump celebrating the trillions of dollars of investment made in America during his first 100 days in office. Once back on Capitol Hill, I head to the House Chamber where we have our first and only vote series of the day. Afterwards, I remain in the Chamber and pay tribute to Lt. Commander Robert Cutler, former Captain of the Savannah Port who recently passed.

Rep. Carter with members of NCPA

Thursday, May 1, 2025: After heading off Capitol Hill to have breakfast with our two interns for this semester who are finishing up this week, I head to the Capitol Plaza where we have a class photo of the Republican members of the 119^th Congress. Next, I head back to our office before heading to our weekly E&C meeting where we hear from newly-confirmed Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz who shares with us messaging suggestions for proposed reforms. Afterwards, I head to the House Chamber for our final vote series of the week and remain in the Chamber where I pay tribute to City of Savannah leisure services employee Joan Quarterman who is retiring after 50 years of service. Next, I head to the Capitol Plaza to take pictures with our interns before heading to our office to meet with representatives from BASF, one of the largest chemical companies in the world that has a site in our district, followed by the American Golf Industry Coalition (AGIC). After filming this week’s edition of Buddy’s Briefings, I have a virtual meeting with our office consultant, Mark Sobol, followed by meetings with the Milken Institute and the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia (IIAG). After a conference call with a couple of constituents to discuss an issue with the Corps of Engineers, I have an in office interview with the Amres project to discuss the energy boom in Georgia before meeting with House General Counsel to discuss a proposal I have to make Naloxone available at the Capitol.

Rep. Carter meets with the Milken Institute

Friday, May 2, 2025: After a couple of virtual staff meetings this morning, I am honored to be the guest on the Grant Cardone podcast as we discuss the Fair Tax proposal. Afterwards, I’m live on Varney & Co. on Fox Business as we discuss Medicaid reform, energy and domestic pharmaceutical production. Later in the day, I have a virtual call with Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeff Kessler to discuss an issue with tariffs.

Rep. Carter joins Varney & Co.

did you know?

Sonny Perdue, born in Perry, Georgia, became the state’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction when he was elected in 2002. After starting his political career as a Democrat, he switched parties in 1998 and made history by ending over 130 years of Democratic control in Georgia.

Votes in the House this week

Click here to see this week's vote sheet in the House of Representatives.