On May 19, 2026, the notice and removal requirements set forth in Section 3 of the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act (“TAKE IT DOWN Act” or “TIDA”) entered into effect. Under this section, covered platforms must establish a process for individuals to notify the platform of certain intimate visual depictions that were shared without their consent and to request their removal. Covered platforms that receive valid requests must remove the visual depictions and identical copies within 48 hours. The FTC, which enforces the TIDA, intends to do so “vigorously.” The FTC has launched a website where individuals can submit complaints about platforms that fail to comply with these requirements and has sent warning letters advising companies of their obligations under the law.
TIDA’s application to “covered platforms.” As described in our previous blog post, TIDA’s notice and removal requirements appear to apply broadly to a “covered platform,” which is defined as a website, online service, online applications, or mobile app that serves the public and either:
- “[P]rimarily provides” a forum for user-generated content, such as messages, videos, images, games, and audio files; or
- Makes available content of nonconsensual intimate visual depictions in the regular course of its trade or business.
This definition excludes certain providers, including email and broadband internet access providers, as well as online services, applications, or websites that consist primarily of content that is not user-generated and instead is preselected by the provider, and for which any chat, comment, or interactive functionality is incidental to, directly related to, or dependent on the provision of preselected content. Recent FTC guidance (discussed further below) states that this definition covers “various websites, apps, and online services, such as social media, messaging, image or video sharing, and gaming platforms.”
Section 3 notice and removal requirements. Under TIDA Section 3, covered platforms must put in place a process for “identifiable” individuals, including minors, to notify the platform of certain intimate visual depictions and submit a request for removal. Specifically, individuals (or an authorized person acting on their behalf) may seek the removal of intimate visual depictions that depict the individual and that were published without their consent. Following receipt of a valid removal request, the platform must remove the depiction and make “reasonable efforts” to remove “known identical copies” of the depiction within 48 hours.
Enforcement. The FTC issued recent guidance on TIDA and sent letters to technology companies and websites reminding them of their obligations to comply with TIDA. The FTC has also launched TakeItDown.ftc.gov, through which individuals can submit complaints about platforms that have failed to respond to valid requests to remove intimate photos or videos that were posted without their consent. Separately, the Department of Justice has already secured a conviction and recently announced two arrests in criminal cases brought under TIDA’s separate criminal provisions, potentially signaling the Administration’s focus on TIDA enforcement generally.
The FTC guidance on TIDA lists steps that covered platforms should take to comply with TIDA, including:
- Providing “clear and conspicuous notice” to individuals about how to submit a removal request.
- Establishing a process that “make[s] it easy for people to submit a removal request.” For example, the FTC guidance states that, the platform could enable individuals to “submit a removal request directly from the photo or video.” The guidance further notes that “TIDA’s protections are not limited to individuals who hold an account on your platform.”
- The guidance further provides that “[p]latforms should make it easy for people to track the status of their removal requests” including by “provid[ing] an identifying number for each take down request your platform receives.”
- Additionally, platforms should “design [their] TIDA process to let people know you removed the reported content, or if not, why.”
The guidance also states that “[p]latforms must find and remove duplicate photos or videos.” In addition to these steps, the FTC guidance also advises covered platforms to consider using technology, such as hashing, to prevent the re-appearance of intimate content that has been removed from the platform. The FTC recommends sharing these hashes with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and StopNCII.org, as appropriate.
Violations of Section 3. Failure to comply with Section 3 of TIDA constitutes a violation of an FTC trade regulation rule, which subjects violators to the risk of civil penalties. TIDA provides a safe harbor for a covered platform that, in good faith, disables access to or removes alleged nonconsensual intimate visual depictions based on facts or circumstances that indicate that the depiction was published in violation of TIDA.