LEGISLATION

TAKE IT DOWN Act — Nonconsensual Intimate Images and AI Deepfakes (S. 146 / Public Law 119-12, 2025)

Updated June 30, 2026

Status: Signed into law by President Trump on May 19, 2025 as Public Law 119-12. The one-year platform compliance deadline (notice-and-removal procedures operational) passed May 19, 2026. The first criminal conviction under the Act was reported in April 2026.

Bill Number: S. 146 / H.R. 633 (119th Congress, 2025–2026) — enacted as Public Law 119-12

Full Title: Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act

Jurisdiction: Federal (United States)

Category: AI-Generated Content, Deepfakes, Nonconsensual Intimate Imagery, Platform Liability, Criminal Law

Industries: Social media platforms, online content hosting services, AI image and video generation companies, physical security and surveillance technology operators, healthcare, education, hospitality

Enacted Date: May 19, 2025 (signed by President Trump)

Effective Date: May 19, 2025 (criminal provisions); May 19, 2026 (platform notice-and-removal procedures required operational)

Summary: The TAKE IT DOWN Act is the first federal law specifically addressing AI-generated deepfake intimate imagery. It amends federal criminal law to prohibit the knowing publication or threat to publish intimate visual depictions — whether authentic recordings or computer-generated — without the consent of the depicted individual. The Act covers two categories: (1) authentic intimate images published nonconsensually ("revenge porn"), and (2) AI-generated or digitally manipulated synthetic imagery that depicts a real, identifiable person in an intimate context. Platforms that host user content are required to establish notice-and-removal procedures through which victims can request takedown, and must remove flagged content within 48 hours of a valid request. Failure to comply with the notice-and-removal requirements exposes platforms to Federal Trade Commission enforcement as an unfair or deceptive trade practice. The Act passed the Senate 95-1 and the House unanimously before being signed at a White House ceremony attended by First Lady Melania Trump, who had championed the legislation.

Key Provisions:

  • Criminal Prohibition: Knowingly publishing or threatening to publish an intimate visual depiction of an identifiable individual without consent — including AI-generated or digitally altered depictions — is a federal crime. Penalties include fines and imprisonment.
  • Platform Notice-and-Removal: Covered online platforms must establish procedures by which victims can request removal of nonconsensual intimate imagery. Platforms must remove flagged content within 48 hours of receiving a valid notice and must make reasonable efforts to remove identical copies across the platform.
  • FTC Enforcement: Non-compliant platforms face FTC enforcement as an unfair or deceptive trade practice. The FTC may issue civil penalties and seek injunctive relief.
  • AI-Generated Content Coverage: The statute expressly covers digitally generated or altered visual depictions — closing the gap that existed under prior state-level revenge-porn laws that were written before generative AI became capable of producing photorealistic imagery of real individuals.
  • Compliance Deadline: Platforms were required to have operational notice-and-removal procedures in place by May 19, 2026 — one year after enactment. As of June 2026, this deadline has passed.

Enforcement Status (as of June 2026): The first known criminal conviction under the TAKE IT DOWN Act was reported in April 2026. FTC enforcement of platform notice-and-removal obligations became active on May 19, 2026. Major social media platforms (Meta, X, Google/YouTube, TikTok) had all published compliant notice-and-removal procedures in advance of the deadline.

IntelliSee Relevance: Moderate — Contextual. The TAKE IT DOWN Act does not directly regulate physical security camera systems or video analytics platforms. IntelliSee's platform processes live camera feeds for safety events — firearms, falls, aggressive behavior, unauthorized access — and does not generate, store, or distribute synthetic intimate imagery. However, the Act is directly relevant to the AI governance landscape in which IntelliSee's customers operate for several reasons:

  • Deepfake Threat Context: The Act underscores the growing legislative recognition that AI-generated visual content — including manipulated video — poses credible harm. This regulatory awareness creates a tailwind for AI security and verification technologies that help organizations manage what their camera systems actually capture and detect.
  • Hospitality and Education Customers: Hotels, K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and healthcare facilities that deploy IntelliSee are also the primary environments where TAKE IT DOWN Act compliance obligations arise — staff training on AI image generation risks and incident response protocols will increasingly touch security teams.
  • Platform and Vendor Risk: Security integrators and VMS vendors that incorporate AI-powered clip generation, highlight reels, or automated video summaries should assess whether their platforms' AI output could fall within the statute's synthetic-imagery provisions.

Compliance Timeline

  • May 19, 2025 — President Trump signs TAKE IT DOWN Act as Public Law 119-12. Criminal prohibitions take immediate effect.
  • April 2026 — First reported criminal conviction under the Act.
  • May 19, 2026 — Platform notice-and-removal procedure deadline. FTC enforcement of platform obligations becomes active.

Related Legislation & Resources

Bill text and history: Congress.gov — S. 146 (119th Congress)

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