TAKE IT DOWN Act
Key claim: The TAKE IT DOWN Act prohibits nonconsensual online publication of intimate visual depictions, including AI-generated deepfakes, and requires covered platforms to remove such content within 48 hours of notice.
Abstract
(S146 · 119th Congress) Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act or the TAKE IT DOWN Act This act generally prohibits the nonconsensual online publication of intimate visual depictions of individuals, both authentic and computer-generated, and requires certain online platforms (e.g., social media platforms) to promptly remove such depictions upon receiving notice of their existence. Specifically, the act prohibits the online publication of intimate visual depictions of an adult subject where publication is intended to cause or does cause harm to the subject, and where the depiction was published without the subject’s consent or, in the case of an authentic depiction, was created or obtained under circumstances where the adult had a reasonable expectation of privacy; or a minor subject where publication is intended to abuse or harass the minor or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. Violators are subject to mandatory restitution and criminal penalties, including prison, a fine, or both. Threats to publish intimate visual depictions of a subject are similarly prohibited and subject to criminal penalties. Separately, covered platforms must establish a process through which subjects of intimate visual depictions may notify the platform of the existence of, and request removal of, an intimate visual depiction including the subject that was published without the subject’s consent. Covered platforms must remove such depictions within 48 hours of notification. Under the act, covered platforms are defined as public websites, online services, or applications that primarily provide a forum for user-generated content. Latest action (2025-05-19): Became Public Law No: 119-12.
Why this matters
The TAKE IT DOWN Act is the first enacted federal law directly criminalizing nonconsensual intimate imagery and AI-generated sexual deepfakes and imposing a uniform 48-hour platform removal duty, changing the practical landscape for victims who previously had to rely on a patchwork of state laws and slow platform policies. It sits at the intersection of civil rights (bodily autonomy, gender-based harassment), free expression, and platform governance, and will shape how related proposals (NO FAKES, DEFIANCE, S5129) are interpreted and scoped going forward.