What Is the TAKE IT DOWN Act? A Plain-Language Guide for Survivors

The TAKE IT DOWN Act is a federal law, signed on May 19, 2025, that makes it a federal crime to share or threaten to share non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes, and requires covered online platforms to remove them within 48 hours of a valid request. Both parts are now in full effect. Since May 19, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been enforcing the platform rule. (Congress.gov, S.146; FTC)

"Non-consensual intimate images" (NCII) is the term the law and researchers use. You may know it as revenge porn, leaked pics, or fake nudes. Whatever you call it, if it was shared or faked without your consent, this law was written for you.

You have real, specific rights now that you did not have two years ago.

You can demand removal, and covered platforms must act within 48 hours. Once you send a valid request, a covered platform has to take the content down, along with any copies it knows about, within 48 hours. (FTC)

1. Fake and AI-generated images count. You do not have to prove an image is a "real" photo. The law covers digital forgeries and deepfakes. (Congress.gov, S.146)
2. Threats count too. Someone threatening to post your images, not just posting them, is now a federal crime.
   Here is what to do, in order. This is information, not legal advice.
3. Use the platform's removal request first. Every covered platform must offer a way to report NCII. Submit it and keep a screenshot of your request and the date. (Protect Privacy AI can do this for you.)
4. If the platform ignores you or misses the 48 hours, report it to the FTC at takeitdown.ftc.gov. The FTC now enforces the platform rule and uses these complaints to act. (Protect Privacy AI can escalate this for you.)
5. Use the hashing tools to block re-uploads. If you were 18 or older, use StopNCII.org. If the image was taken when you were under 18, use NCMEC's Take It Down. These create a digital fingerprint so participating platforms can stop the image from spreading.
6. Report the crime. File with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Federal agents investigate and prosecutors bring the charges. You do not file the criminal case yourself.
7. Get support. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative runs a confidential IBSA helpline at 1-844-878-2274 (cybercivilrights.org). Our sister nonprofit, the Digital Identity Foundation, also provides support. 
   

A composite example: someone posts a fake nude of you on a large platform. You submit the platform's takedown form and screenshot it. Two days pass with no response, so you file a complaint at takeitdown.ftc.gov and upload your image to StopNCII to block re-uploads on major platforms. You are not chasing every copy alone; the law now puts the burden on the platform.

If you follow this issue, or you are an advocate, reporter, or policymaker, here is what actually changed.

• It is the first federal criminal law aimed squarely at NCII, including deepfakes. Before this, protection depended entirely on which state you lived in.
• It closes the "it's fake, so it's legal" loophole. By covering AI-generated forgeries, the law treats a fabricated image as the real harm it is.
• It criminalizes threats, not just publication.
• It creates a nationwide platform takedown duty with a clock. Covered platforms must remove valid-reported NCII within 48 hours, and the FTC enforces it with civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. 
• Federal criminal penalties now exist: up to two years in prison when the victim is an adult and up to three years when the victim is a minor, plus mandatory restitution. 

The law already has teeth. In April 2026, an Ohio man became the first person convicted under it after using AI to target six women (U.S. Department of Justice; NBC News). In May 2026, the FTC sent warning letters to roughly 15 companies, including 12 "nudify" apps, days before enforcement began (FTC).

The TAKE IT DOWN Act did not come from Washington. It came from survivors who refused to stay quiet. Teenagers like Elliston Berry and Francesca Mani, who found AI-generated fakes of themselves circulating at school and got silence from platforms and administrators, testified before Congress and told their stories to lawmakers and reporters. Advocates like Breeze Liu and parent Brandon Guffey pushed alongside them until the bill passed both chambers and was signed into law (TIME; U.S. Senate Commerce Committee).

Our founder and CEO, Dawn Hawkins, worked alongside them, walking survivors office to office on the Hill, hosting briefings, and shaping the legislation before most lawmakers were paying attention.

This protection exists because people who had been harmed decided their experience should change the law. If you are a survivor, your voice carries that same weight, both in your own case and in the fight that is still ahead.