Remedies, country by country
Each page explains one official remedy: who to contact, what to prepare, time frames, cost and limits. All are checked against official texts.
United States
- TAKE IT DOWN Act: asking for an intimate image to be removed A US federal law requires online platforms to remove an intimate image posted without your consent, whether real or AI-generated, no later than 48 hours after a valid request. It protects anyone who can be recognised in the image.
- DMCA: requesting removal of a photo or video you created The DMCA is a US copyright law. If a photo or video you created (for example a selfie) is posted without your permission on a service subject to US law, you can send a “DMCA notice” asking for it to be removed.
European Union
- DSA: reporting illegal content to a platform (EU) In the European Union, any service that hosts content (social network, forum, sharing site…) must let you report illegal content online, examine your notice carefully and tell you its decision. It works for any content that breaks the law: intimate images, fake profiles, defamation, personal data…
- GDPR: asking for your personal data to be erased In the European Union you can ask a website, company or service to erase data about you (photo, name, address, post…) in the cases set out in the GDPR. It must reply within one month, and it is free.
- Right to be forgotten: asking Google or Bing to delist a link In the European Union you can ask a search engine to stop showing, when people search your name, a link to a page about you. This is called “delisting”: the page stays on the original site, but becomes much harder to find.
France
- Intimate images shared without your consent in France In France, sharing an image or recording of a sexual nature without your consent is a criminal offence, even if you agreed to it being taken or took it yourself. You can ask the platform to remove it, file a police complaint and, if the site does not respond, complain to the CNIL (the French data protection authority).
- Sexual deepfakes: what you can do in France Since May 2024, sharing without your consent a sexual montage, or a sexual image, video or audio made by AI that reproduces your face or voice, has been a criminal offence in France. It does not matter that the content is fake: that is exactly what the law targets.
- Fake profile or online impersonation: what to do in France Creating a fake profile in your name, or using your personal data to disturb your peace or harm your reputation, is a criminal offence in France (identity theft). You can have the platform remove the profile and file a police complaint.
- Online defamation in France: you only have 3 months to act In France, publicly accusing someone of a specific fact that harms their honour or reputation is defamation, including in an online review, comment or post. You can ask the platform to remove it, but legal action must be started within 3 months of the first online publication.
Spain
Minors
- Under 18 in Spain: if an intimate image of you is shared If you are under 18 and intimate or violent photos, videos or audio of you are posted without your permission, it is not your fault and help exists. In Spain, the data protection authority (AEPD) has a special form for minors to ask for them to be removed.
- Intimate image taken before you were 18: Take It Down Take It Down is a free, anonymous service from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), a US child protection organisation. It helps remove or block, on participating platforms, nude, partially nude or sexual photos or videos of you taken before you were 18. It is never your fault.
International
- When a domain registrar ignores your abuse report: ICANN A .com, .net, .org or other generic-extension site is registered through a “registrar” (a domain name registration company). Its contract with ICANN requires it to receive abuse reports, investigate them and respond appropriately. If it does not, you can complain to ICANN.
- StopNCII: help stop your intimate images being shared StopNCII.org is a free tool that creates a “digital fingerprint” of your intimate images on your phone or computer (a code calculated from the image that lets it be recognised without being seen), without uploading them. Partner platforms use this fingerprint to detect and remove those images.
This information helps you use your rights. It doesn’t replace advice from a lawyer.