diff --git a/dr_botzo/transform/ircplugin.py b/dr_botzo/transform/ircplugin.py
index 58d63ea..87ddb93 100644
--- a/dr_botzo/transform/ircplugin.py
+++ b/dr_botzo/transform/ircplugin.py
@@ -51,9 +51,9 @@ class Transform(Plugin):
         text = match.group(2)
 
         if direction == 'encode':
-            return self.bot.reply(event, base64.encodestring(text).replace('\n', ''))
+            return self.bot.reply(event, base64.encodebytes(bytes(text, 'utf-8')).decode('utf-8'))
         elif direction == 'decode':
-            return self.bot.reply(event, base64.decodestring(text).replace('\n', ''))
+            return self.bot.reply(event, base64.decodebytes(bytes(text, 'utf-8')).decode('utf-8'))
 
     def handle_upper(self, connection, event, match):
         """Uppercase the text."""