USA Passes Take It Down Act: Fighting NCII at the Federal Level

After a concerted bipartisan effort, the Take It Down Act has passed the House of Representatives in a resounding 409–2 vote.⁽¹⁾ With unanimous Senate approval in February, President Trump is now expected to sign it into law.

The bill would make the release of non-consensual nude images a federal crime and require social media platforms and websites to promptly remove the content. It would have significant impacts on sextortion, revenge porn, and anyone threatening someone else with nudes.

Origins of the Take It Down Act

The Take It Down Act was born from the painful experiences of 14-year-old Elliston Berry of Texas and 15-year-old Francesca Mani of New Jersey, who discovered in October 2023 that classmates had used AI software to create fake nude images of them and other girls.⁽²⁾ When they sought help from the threat, both school officials and social media platforms responded with indifference.

Berry’s mother, Anna, reached out to Senator Ted Cruz, who drafted the legislation and championed it through Congress. Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar and Richard Blumenthal co-sponsored the bill, while Representatives Maria Salazar and Madeleine Dean led the House effort.

Cruz praised the bill for what it would do for victims of revenge porn and online sextortion.

“It protects young girls and young women, and it’s a huge bipartisan victory that we’re winning tonight,” Cruz said on ABC News.⁽³⁾

An earlier attempt to include the bill in a December bipartisan spending package failed after opposition from Elon Musk and Donald Trump.⁽²⁾ During the Biden administration, the DEFIANCE Act, spearheaded by Democrats Dick Durbin and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, was considered the most viable deepfake legislation, but momentum shifted when Cruz became chair of the Senate Commerce Committee.⁽²⁾

First Lady Melania Trump later backed the bill, hosting a press conference in Washington with Berry, Mani, and other victims of deepfake abuse, sextortion, and revenge porn.⁽²⁾

What Will the Take It Down Act Do?

The Take It Down Act makes it a federal crime to “knowingly publish” or threaten to publish Non-Consensual Intimate Images (NCII), including AI-generated deepfakes.⁽⁴⁾ It also requires websites and social media platforms to remove such content within 24 hours of being notified by the victim. Platforms must maintain a clear, accessible process for reporting NCII and take action to remove any duplicate material.

In addition, the Take It Down Act criminalizes the harmful creation and distribution of these images, with violators facing fines or jail time.⁽⁴⁾

Individuals who share authentic or AI-generated NCII of adults can face fines, restitution, asset forfeiture, and up to two years in prison.⁽⁴⁾ If the victim is a minor under 18, the maximum sentence increases to three years.

What Crimes Does This Law Combat?

The Take It Down Act applies to any crime involving NCII, which refers to the sharing or threat to share nude or sexually explicit images or videos of a person without their consent. NCII includes content originally taken with consent but later distributed without permission, as well as material that is fabricated, such as AI-generated deepfakes.

The Take It Down Act not only criminalizes the publication of NCII but also targets digital extortion and harassment, making it illegal to threaten victims with the release of nudes, a tactic often used to coerce, shame, or manipulate individuals online.

The Take It Down Act addresses the following crimes:

Sextortion: Online blackmail that involves intimate images. It often begins with a scammer using a fake profile to gain trust, then threatening to release the nude images unless the victim pays money. The cybercrime sextortion has been tied to multiple cases that lead to a tragic end for their victims.
Revenge porn: The distribution of sexually explicit images or videos of someone without their consent with the intent to humiliate, punish, or seek revenge. Unlike sextortion, revenge porn is typically done by a former partner.
Sexploitation: the exploitation of individuals, often through the creation, distribution, or manipulation of sexually explicit content, typically to exert power and control. While financial sextortion has seen on a meteoric rise post covid, cases of sexploitation continue to emerge.

When Will the Take It Down Act Go into Effect?

If President Trump signs the bill as expected, the Take It Down Act’s takedown requirements for covered platforms will take effect one year after enactment.⁽⁴⁾

Platforms that fail to comply with these removal obligations may face enforcement actions from the Federal Trade Commission under Section 5 of the FTC Act.⁽⁴⁾ Notably, the bill expands the FTC’s authority to include nonprofit organizations, a rare move in federal regulation.⁽⁴⁾

To protect good-faith efforts, the bill shields platforms from liability when they remove or disable access to content based on reasonable evidence, even if the content is later found to be lawful.⁽⁴⁾ It also includes a severability clause, allowing the rest of the law to stand if any part is ruled unconstitutional.⁽⁴⁾

Sunny Gandhi hopes the Take It Down Act is just the beginning to protecting victims of sextortion, revenge porn, and those threatened with nudes. He is the vice president of political affairs at Encode, an AI-focused advocacy group that backed the bill. He’s calling on Congress to build on this momentum by advancing broader protections for children online. Recent hearings by the House Energy and Commerce Committee suggest growing interest in taking further action.

“There’s a giant movement in Congress and at the state level around kids’ safety that is only picking up momentum,” Gandhi told Time Magazine.⁽²⁾ “People don’t want this to be the next big harm that we wait five or 10 years before we do something about it.”

The Take It Down Act: A Positive Step Forward to Fighting the Extortion Economy

The Take It Down Act marks a major turning point in the fight against online abuse, striking at the heart of the extortion economy and giving victims powerful new tools to hold perpetrators accountable. While many states have laws addressing NCII, this would be the first federal law to criminalize its distribution and the first to explicitly cover AI-generated content.

Its passage sends a clear national message: the publication and spread of NCII, in any form, will no longer be tolerated.

For organizations like Digital Forensics Corp., this law is a game-changer. It strengthens our mission to support victims of sextortion, revenge porn, and those threatened with nudes, empowering us to act more decisively than ever before.

If you or someone you know is being targeted or threatened with nudes, don’t stay silent. Reach out today. We’re here to help you reclaim control, protect your reputation, and bring justice to those who exploit others online.

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