María Elvira Salazar: “Every generation of Congress faces moments that test our commitment to justice, and today is one of those moments. I…”

“Every generation of Congress faces moments that test our commitment to justice, and today is one of those moments. I rise today to urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on S. 146, the TAKE IT DOWN Act. The Senate has already done its job. They passed this legislation unanimously. Now, it is our turn in the House of Representatives. This is our moment to stand up to protect our children and make this the law of the land. The name of the legislation is the TAKE IT DOWN Act. The mission of this bill is simple, profound, and long lasting. It stops cyber abuse. It prevents the bullying of one child against another and, even more importantly, prevents suicide born out of shame. It is outrageously sick to use images--the face, the voice, the likeness--of a young vulnerable female to manipulate them, to extort them, and to humiliate them publicly just for fun, just for revenge. That is why we created this bill, to stop the abuse spreading like wildfire right now on social media. It is widely known that 99 percent of the time, the victims, most of them girls, don't even know their faces, their bodies, their intimate parts are being circulated around the internet in fake, compromising pornographic images. Unfortunately, in life, perception is reality. Even though the images are fake, the consequences are very, very real.…”