The TAKE IT DOWN Act

What counts

The law covers intimate images and videos of a person who can be identified, by their face or by another distinguishing feature. The legal definition is specific: it covers exposed intimate body parts and sexually explicit content, not everything someone might call "intimate."

It also covers realistic AI-generated or altered images: ones a reasonable person couldn't tell apart from a real photo or video. Obvious cartoons or clearly fake images may not qualify under this law, but many platforms ban them under their own rules anyway. More on AI images

Which sites have to follow it

"Covered platforms" are public websites and apps that mainly host content posted by users, or that regularly publish this kind of material as part of their business. Being small or a nonprofit doesn't exempt a site. Email providers and internet service providers are excluded.

Whether a particular messaging app or hosting company is covered depends on what it actually does. If you're not sure, send your request through the platform's own removal or intimate-image reporting form if it has one. The 48 hours start with a valid request sent through that process; a message to a general support address may not count.

What happens after you send it

• The platform must remove the content as soon as possible, and no later than 48 hours after receiving your valid request. That's 48 clock hours, not business hours.
• It must make reasonable efforts to find and remove known identical copies on its service.
• Many platforms give you a reference number. Save it.
• You don't need an account on the platform. The FTC says the law's protections aren't limited to account holders.

The platform may ask for more information, such as ID. The law itself lists only the four items above. Whether extra demands are allowed is still a legal question.

If they ignore you

If 48 hours pass and the content is still up, or the site has no working way to report, or it makes you create an account just to ask:

1. Send a follow-up with template T-03. This is optional.
2. Report the platform at the FTC's TAKE IT DOWN portal. Have ready: the platform name, the links, your original request, when you sent it, and any reference number or replies. Details about yourself are optional, and you can file for someone else.

The FTC can seek civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation from companies that don't comply. That money goes to the government, not to you.

It's also a crime

Separately, the law makes it a federal crime to knowingly publish these images, or threaten to, under certain conditions. Penalties range up to two years in prison for cases involving adults and three years involving minors. You don't need to report a crime or get a conviction before asking a platform to remove something.

To report a crime, contact local police, the FBI, or the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. If you're in immediate danger, call 911.

What it can't do

Messaging services are covered, so report images sent through them too. But a request can't reach copies saved on someone's phone or computer, a service may not be able to see messages that are end-to-end encrypted, and some sites are overseas or hard to reach. Some advocacy groups have also raised concerns about how the law could be misused. None of that makes a request less worth sending: it's often the fastest way to get content off a major platform.