What The Tech: The “Take It Down Act” goes into effect
BY JAMEY TUCKER, Consumer Tech Reporter
A new federal law is now giving victims of revenge porn, sextortion, and AI-generated fake nude images more power online.
The Federal Trade Commission has officially begun enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a law requiring covered platforms and social media companies to remove nonconsensual intimate images after receiving a valid request from a victim.
The law applies to both real intimate images shared without consent and AI-generated fake images that depict real people. Under the law, platforms must remove the images, along with known identical copies, within 48 hours.
The FTC has also launched a new reporting website:
TakeItDown.ftc.gov
The website allows victims to file complaints against platforms that fail to remove the content or fail to provide a reporting process. The law arrives as AI-generated explicit images and sextortion scams continue to rise
dramatically online.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says reports involving generative AI images increased by more than 1,300% last year. Experts say teenagers are increasingly being targeted in sextortion schemes, where criminals threaten to release real or fake intimate images unless victims send money.
If you become a victim, experts recommend:
• Take screenshots immediately
• Save usernames, messages, and URLs
• Report the content to the platform
• File a complaint through the FTC website
• Contact law enforcement if minors are involved
While the law may not completely erase images from the internet, especially on overseas websites, consumer advocates say it gives victims far more legal leverage than they had before
