The TAKE IT DOWN Act, explained

Timeline

1. January 16, 2025Introduced in the Senate as S. 146.
2. February 13, 2025Passed the Senate.
3. April 28, 2025Passed the House.
4. May 19, 2025Signed into law. The criminal provisions took effect immediately.
5. May 19, 2026The platform notice-and-removal requirements took effect and the FTC began enforcing them. The week before, FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson wrote to 15 platforms (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Automattic, Bumble, Discord, Match Group, Meta, Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit, SmugMug, Snapchat, TikTok and X) reminding them to comply.

What is a crime

The law adds federal crimes for knowingly publishing an "intimate visual depiction" of an identifiable person, whether it is authentic or a digital forgery: an intimate image of an identifiable person created or altered using AI or other technological means.

When the person shown is an adult

Publishing is a crime when all of these are true:

• for an authentic image, it was obtained or created when the person shown had a reasonable expectation of privacy (and the publisher knew or should have known it); for a digital forgery, it was published without the person's consent;
• what it shows was not voluntarily exposed by the person in a public or commercial setting;
• it is not a matter of public concern; and
• the publication was meant to cause harm or did cause harm, including psychological, financial or reputational harm.

When the person shown is a minor

Publishing is a crime when it is done to abuse, humiliate, harass or degrade the minor, or to arouse or gratify anyone's sexual desire. The consent and public-setting conditions above do not apply.

Penalties

Courts also order forfeiture of the material and of property used in or obtained from the crime.

What is not covered

• Good-faith disclosures to law enforcement, and disclosures for a legitimate medical, scientific or educational purpose.
• A person sharing an image of themselves.
• Someone who only provides access or a connection to a network they do not control.

How to get an image removed

1. Send a removal request to the site or app. Covered platforms must explain, in plain language, how to make one. The request must be in writing and include enough information to find the image (a link is best), a short statement that you believe in good faith it was published without consent, and your signature and contact information. A representative can file for you.
2. The platform has 48 hours. It must remove the image as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after a valid request, and make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies. You do not have to report each copy.
3. If it does not act, report it to the FTC. File a complaint at TakeItDown.ftc.gov. It also takes complaints about platforms with no removal process at all.
4. Help stop it from coming back. The FTC points platforms to hash-sharing services that block re-uploads: NCMEC's Take It Down service for images of people under 18, and StopNCII.org for images of adults.
5. Report the person who posted it. Publishing is a federal crime, and most states have their own laws (see below), so you can also go to law enforcement.

What platforms must do

Who is covered

A "covered platform" is a public website, online service, online application or mobile app that primarily provides a forum for user-generated content, or that publishes, curates, hosts or makes available nonconsensual intimate images in the regular course of business. The FTC says this includes social media, messaging, image and video sharing, and gaming platforms. Broadband providers and email are excluded, as are sites made up mainly of their own preselected content where chat or comments are incidental. Nonprofits are covered.

The requirements

• Run a process for people to request removal, and post a clear and conspicuous, plain-language notice explaining it.
• Remove the image within 48 hours of a valid request, and make reasonable efforts to identify and remove known identical copies.
• Platforms are not liable for removing material in good faith based on facts that make it look unlawful, even if it turns out to be lawful.

Enforcement

Failing to reasonably comply is treated as a violation of an FTC rule against unfair or deceptive practices, which carries civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. The FTC did not raise its penalty amounts for inflation in 2026, so the 2025 figure still applies.

What the FTC recommends

These come from the FTC's business guidance and go beyond what the law itself spells out:

• Put the notice on the home page and wherever intimate content could appear.
• Let people request removal directly from the content, and let people without an account file requests, since the law protects everyone, not just account holders.
• Give each request an identifying number, and tell the requester whether the content was removed and, if not, why.
• Use hashing to keep removed images from reappearing, and share hashes with NCMEC's Take It Down service (minors) and StopNCII.org (adults).

How it fits with state laws

The federal law adds to state protections rather than replacing them. By our count of enacted laws, 43 states have their own laws on AI-generated intimate images and 37 states on AI-generated child sexual abuse material. State laws often add remedies the federal law does not, such as the right to sue for damages. See which states cover what in deepfake laws by state, and penalties in the deepfake penalty tracker.

Open questions

The Congressional Research Service has flagged issues courts may have to resolve:

• Free speech. Because the law regulates speech based on its content, a challenge could subject it to strict scrutiny. Several state high courts have upheld state laws against nonconsensual pornography on free-speech grounds.
• Over-removal. Some advocacy groups argue the 48-hour rule will lead platforms to take down lawful content, and the law gives the person who posted it no way to contest a good-faith removal.
• Section 230. The law does not say how the removal duty interacts with Section 230, the federal law that generally shields platforms from liability for user content. Section 230 does not protect against federal criminal charges.

This explains the law in plain language and is not legal advice. AI Laws by State reviews this page against the sources above and updates it when the law, its enforcement or the FTC's guidance changes.