President Donald Trump signed the Take It Down Act on Monday, placing new federal restrictions on the distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated deepfakes, and setting a fast removal timeline for platforms after victims report the content.
The bill, which went into effect immediately, creates stricter federal penalties for people who distribute intimate images without consent and for those who threaten to publish such material. It also targets AI-created “deepfakes,” which proponents say can be used to replicate intimate images without the subject’s permission.
Supporters said the law is designed to help victims quickly get harmful content taken down and to provide a path for law enforcement to hold perpetrators accountable. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who co-sponsored the bill, said the change gives victims “legal protections and tools” for when intimate images, including deepfakes, are shared without consent.
Klobuchar described the law’s federal impact as especially important because non-consensual intimate imagery can spread rapidly on mainstream platforms and can be harder to remove once it is widely circulated. She called the legislation a “major victory for victims of online abuse” and said it enables law enforcement to pursue perpetrators.
Sen. Ted Cruz introduced the legislation and said it was inspired by Elliston Berry and her mother, who visited his office after Snapchat refused for nearly a year to remove an AI-generated “deepfake” involving then 14-year-old Berry. Cruz said people who misuse new technology to post exploitative content will face criminal consequences and that “Big Tech” would no longer be allowed to ignore the spread of the material.
In addition to the senators behind the measure, First Lady Melania Trump backed the legislation and helped champion it on Capitol Hill. She lobbied in March, described as “heartbreaking” what teenagers, especially girls, face when people spread such content after a victimization event.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, publicly supported the bill. In March, Meta spokesman Andy Stone said that having an intimate image—whether real or AI-generated—shared without consent can be devastating, and he said Meta developed and backs efforts to help prevent it.
The bill’s core mechanism requires websites and social media companies to act quickly once they receive notice from a victim. Under the measure, companies must remove covered material within 48 hours of notice, and the law also requires platforms to take steps to delete duplicate content.
As the law moved from campaign and Capitol Hill debate into implementation, critics raised concerns that its wording could sweep in protected speech. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said the bill is too broad and could lead to censorship of legitimate images, including legal pornography and LGBTQ content, as well as content by government critics.
EFF said the bill’s takedown provision could apply to a wider category of content than narrower definitions of non-consensual intimate imagery in other laws. The group also warned that the takedown process lacks “critical safeguards” against frivolous or bad-faith takedown requests, arguing that platforms may rely on automated filters that can be “infamously blunt” and may flag lawful material like fair-use commentary or news reporting.
The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative also said it had “serious reservations” about the legislation, describing the takedown provision as unconstitutionally vague and overbroad and as lacking adequate safeguards against misuse. It cited hypothetical examples, including possible removal pressure on images connected to public protest, material shown by law enforcement as part of a case, or commercially produced sexually explicit content, including situations where material is consensual but falsely reported as non-consensual.
Supporters of the legislation say those concerns overlook the intent behind the law: to reduce harm from non-consensual intimate imagery, particularly when AI tools make it easier to create and share convincing fakes. For platforms, the measure’s immediate effect signals that federal regulators are now pushing companies to take specific, time-bound steps once victims raise formal notices.
${MUST_NOT_OVERRIDE_FLOOR_WITH_ANALYSIS}