US President Donald Trump highlighted an array of tech-related initiatives during Tuesday's address to a joint session of Congress, including bipartisan congressional efforts to curb sexual deepfakes and Elon Musk’s dramatic attempts to trim the federal workforce.

But some of Trump’s remarks could undermine those very same endeavors by giving his critics legal ammunition. Here’s a breakdown of Trump’s tech mentions during his prime-time speech.

Trump endorses TAKE IT DOWN Act, then floats using protections himself

Trump used the address to boost the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a federal bill led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) that would make it illegal to publish intimate digital forgeries of a person without their consent — often referred to as “revenge porn” — and require tech platforms to remove the material when notified. The Senate passed the bill last month, and House leaders said they hope to send it to the president’s desk soon during an event with First Lady Melania Trump this week.

“Once it passes the House, I look forward to signing that bill into law,” Trump said on Tuesday.

Trump then suggested he would use the bill’s protections to target users who treat him disfavorably online. “I’m going to use that bill for myself too if you don’t mind because nobody gets treated worse than I do online, nobody,” Trump said.

Free speech advocates critical of the bill have argued that while it is well-intended, the language in the proposal has been crafted too broadly and could have a chilling effect on free expression or be weaponized by federal enforcers to crack down on speech they dislike. Trump’s quip that he may use the bill to address how he is “treated” online could deepen those concerns.

Trump bashes CHIPS Act, drawing applause from House leadership

Trump repeatedly tore into the CHIPS Act, a sprawling bipartisan law that provided billions in federal subsidies to build up semiconductor manufacturing in the US. The measure was overwhelmingly passed by Congress and signed by former President Joe Biden in 2022.

During his address, Trump argued that imposing tariffs on imports — not offering federal subsidies — was the best way to ensure companies invest in US manufacturing.

He then called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to repeal the law, telling him to “get rid” of it and to use “whatever’s left over” in federal funding to reduce the national debt. Sitting behind Trump during the speech, Johnson stood and clapped in response.

Johnson last year suggested House Republicans “probably will” try to repeal the measure, but then dialed back the comments, saying lawmakers will instead try to “streamline” the CHIPS Act after facing political blowback from its proponents.

Trump says Musk is leading DOGE, while his administration says he’s not

Trump stated during his speech that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is leading a sprawling and legally dubious effort to slash the federal workforce, is “headed by Elon Musk.”

While seemingly innocuous given Musk’s outsize influence as the public face of the initiative, the issue is a key point of contention in ongoing legal challenges over DOGE’s work.

While Musk has been heavily involved in leading the effort, the White House last month named a different Trump administration official, Amy Gleason, as DOGE’s acting administrator. And the White House has said that while Musk is a “special government employee,” he is not officially leading DOGE on paper.

Still, Trump has repeatedly stated otherwise, including last month when he said Musk is “in charge” of DOGE.

Trump’s latest remarks on Musk’s role are already being used against him, with one group of lawyers challenging DOGE citing the address in a new filing Wednesday, according to NBC.

Trump claims to have ‘stopped all government censorship,’ as advocates decry tech, media crackdowns

Trump claimed that his administration has “stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America.” In January, he signed an executive order barring federal employees from engaging in “any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen,” including actions under the “guise” of combatting misinformation.

Disinformation researchers have hammered the order, warning that it could supercharge the spread of conspiracy theories online and chill communications between tech platforms and the federal government that existed under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Trump’s picks at the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission, meanwhile, are facing pushback from free speech advocates for applying pressure on tech and media companies over the material they host, moderate, or broadcast.

Free speech advocates have also criticized Trump’s attacks against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and his pledge to crack down on college protesters as threats to free speech and expression.

Trump touts, but overstates, data center investments

Trump hailed an announcement by tech companies OpenAI, Oracle, MGX, and Softbank to invest up to $500 billion to build new data centers to support AI development in coming years, suggesting they were commitments the companies “wouldn’t have done if Kamala [Harris] had won."

According to The Washington Post, negotiations over the investments had been going on for months prior to Trump’s victory last year, and while the companies have said the investments could grow to $500 billion, so far they have not committed the full amount.