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.
Who it is for
You can be recognised (face or another distinctive feature) in an intimate photo or video – nudity or sexual activity –, real or AI-made, posted without your consent on a social network, a photo or video sharing site, a forum, an app or an online game subject to US law. Someone you authorise (relative, lawyer, support organisation) can make the request for you. If the image was taken before you turned 18, also see the Take It Down (NCMEC) guide.
Time frame
The platform must act as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after receiving a valid request. This obligation has applied since 19 May 2026.
Cost
Free.
Legal basis
TAKE IT DOWN Act (US federal law, Public Law 119-12, signed on 19 May 2025), section 3: mandatory notice-and-removal process, applicable since 19 May 2026 and enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The law covers real images and “digital forgeries”, meaning intimate images created with AI or software.
The steps
- Keep evidence without re-sharing the image: write down the exact address (URL) of each post, the account name and the date, and take screenshots. Do not send the image to anyone.
- Look on the platform for its link to request removal of intimate images: the law requires each covered platform to display it clearly and explain the process in plain language.
- Make your request in writing with the 4 elements the law requires: your signature (handwritten or electronic), information to locate the image (the link), a short statement that you believe in good faith it was published without your consent, and your contact details.
- Keep proof that you sent it, with the date and time. The platform must remove the image no later than 48 hours after receiving the request and make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies.
- If the image is still online after 48 hours, or if you could not find any way to make the request, report the platform to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov. The FTC does not remove content itself, but it uses these reports to investigate and bring cases against platforms.
- If someone threatens or blackmails you, also contact the police. The FTC also points to the FBI (tips.fbi.gov) for reporting perpetrators.
What to prepare
- The exact address (URL) of each photo or video and the name of the account that posted it
- A short sentence saying you did not consent to it being published
- Your signature, handwritten or electronic
- Your contact details (at least an email address)
- If you act for someone else: their written authorisation
- Dated screenshots, plus the date and time of your request (useful for a report to the FTC)
Official links
- FTC – report a platform that did not remove the image (official form, English or Spanish)
- FTC – official overview of the law
- Image taken before age 18: Take It Down service (NCMEC)
- StopNCII – help stop re-sharing on partner platforms
The limits you should know
- The law covers websites and apps subject to US law that mainly host content posted by their users. Email, internet access providers and sites whose content is mainly chosen by the publisher are excluded.
- For copies, the platform only has to make “reasonable efforts”: not every copy will necessarily disappear.
- A site based outside the United States may not consider itself bound: you will then need other routes (for example the DSA in the European Union).
- The FTC does not remove anything itself and does not resolve individual cases: it investigates platforms and can take action against them.
- An incomplete request (no signature, no link or no contact details) may be refused.
- Removal from one platform does not erase the image elsewhere on the internet.
If it doesn’t work
An official form can go unanswered or be wrongly refused. That’s not the end: there are other doors, heavier but effective — the company hosting the site, the company managing its domain name, the laws of your country, the data protection authority. That’s exactly what we do for you, with your agreement.
- Reporting to the platform
- A written request to the site owner
- The domain name registrar
- The hosting company
- Search engines
- The authority or the courts
This information helps you use your rights. It doesn’t replace advice from a lawyer.