Online platforms are now legally required to remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours of a complaint, as a federal law criminalizing the dissemination of such content comes into full force this Tuesday in the United States.
Last year, President Donald Trump signed the Take It Down Act into law, making it illegal to post non-consensual intimate visual depictions online, whether real or artificially generated. But the law gave online platforms one year to create a process for removing such images within 48 hours of user notification. If online platforms failed to do so, they could face civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. That one-year deadline expired on Tuesday.
The provisions now taking effect ensure that tech companies “can no longer turn a blind eye to these horrific abuses on social media,” said Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who co-wrote the bill with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, in a statement.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which will enforce the law, sent letters last week to major online platforms warning them about compliance. This includes popular social media platforms such as Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, and X, along with gaming platforms and dating apps like Bumble and Match Group, Reddit, Discord, Pinterest, and tech giants Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft.
Any company that “primarily provides a forum for user-generated content or regularly posts, curates, hosts, or supplies intimate content shared without consent” is subject to the law, according to the FTC.
The other provision of the law that applies to people who publish non-consensual intimate images is already in effect. Violators can face fines and up to two years in prison.
How to report it?
The FTC says platforms must provide clear instructions to “make it easy for people to submit a takedown request.” They are also responsible for finding and removing duplicates of the reported image or video within 48 hours.
The images do not have to be real. Artificially generated, non-consensual intimate images, sometimes called deepfake pornography, are also covered by the law.
Some online services allow users to report these images directly from where they are posted. On Instagram, for example, clicking or tapping the three dots in the top right corner of an image leads to a “Report” button. At the bottom of that page is a notice with a link to complete a detailed report.
TikTok users can report a post using the arrow button in the bottom right corner of the screen. Under the “Sexual Content” option, there is a link to submit a separate report for content related to non-consensual intimate images.
Even Walmart now has an option to report intimate images because users can upload images if they sell products on the retailer’s platform.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also offers a “one-step” service “to help remove online photos and videos” of minors “naked, partially nude, or sexually explicit.”
For adults, an organization called Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery offers support and the option to submit intimate images that participating platforms can view to find matches and remove them if they violate the Take It Down Act. (The images are translated into hashes, which function like a digital fingerprint.)
The FTC also launched TakeItDown.ftc.gov to report platforms that do not remove intimate images or that make it difficult to report them.
The Take It Down Act is the first federal law to take action against non-consensual intimate images, including artificially generated images or videos. Before the law was passed, victims had limited and often ineffective options to have such images removed, frequently involving navigating a fragmented system of state laws and copyright regulations.
“As AI advances, the technology must be used responsibly and not as a tool for abuse, harassment, or exploitation,” Senator Cruz said in a statement. “Victims now have the tools to reclaim their privacy and dignity, and Big Tech can no longer turn a blind eye.”