FTC Begins Enforcing TAKE IT DOWN Act, Opens Portal for Complaints

The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday it has begun enforcing the platform requirements in the TAKE IT DOWN Act, marking the point at which covered websites and apps must have systems in place to take removal requests for nonconsensual intimate imagery and act on valid reports within 48 hours.

At the same time, the agency launched a complaint portal, TakeItDown.ftc.gov, for victims and survivors to report platforms that did not comply. According to the FTC, the site is for complaints that a platform either failed to act on a valid removal request or failed to provide a process for people to ask that nonconsensual intimate images be taken down.

The move shifts the law from a statutory deadline to active federal enforcement. May 19 is both the one-year anniversary of the law’s enactment and the deadline Congress set for covered platforms to have compliant notice-and-takedown systems in place.

Under Section 3 of the law, platforms must provide a clear way for victims or their authorized representatives to submit written removal requests. Once a valid request is received, the platform must remove the reported intimate photo or video and make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies as soon as possible, and no later than 48 hours later.

The FTC also published new consumer guidance on how people can use the law and business guidance for companies on how to comply. In that business guidance, the agency said platforms should make the reporting process easy to find and allow requests from people who do not have accounts, among other steps.

The agency said failures to meet those notice-and-takedown obligations are enforceable by the FTC. Its business guidance says violations may lead to enforcement action, including civil penalties.

FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said last week that he had sent reminder letters ahead of the deadline to major platforms, including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Bumble, Discord, Match Group, Meta, Microsoft, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok and X.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act was signed into law on May 19, 2025. It created criminal penalties for people who intentionally publish nonconsensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated digital forgeries, and established a separate FTC-enforced takedown regime for platforms under Section 3.

That means the law now reaches both the people who post such material and the platforms that host it. The imagery covered by the law includes nonconsensual intimate photos and videos, as well as deepfake-style sexual images generated with artificial intelligence, an area the FTC and Ferguson have framed as a growing digital-exploitation risk, particularly for minors.

The statute treats platform noncompliance with Section 3 as a violation enforceable under the FTC Act, the agency said in its announcement Tuesday.

Ferguson said in the FTC press release: “Thanks to First Lady Melania Trump’s dedication, the public, especially children, will have recourse against digital exploitation and extortion. In the age of AI, anyone can be targeted, and that becomes even more appalling if children are involved. The TAKE IT DOWN Act empowers families and provides the FTC with an effective tool to protect minors against this form of abuse.”