United States of America: President signed Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks (TAKE IT DOWN Act/SB 146)

On 19 May 2025, the President signed the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilising Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks (TAKE IT DOWN) Act. The Act criminalises the intentional publication of nonconsensual intimate visual depictions, including both authentic and AI-generated material, when shared without the consent of the depicted individual and under specified harmful conditions. It applies to depictions involving both adults and minors. The Act requires covered platforms, defined as public-facing services hosting user-generated content, to implement a notice-and-removal process. Upon receiving a valid request from an identifiable individual, the platform must remove the specified content and make reasonable efforts to delete known identical copies within 48 hours. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is authorised to enforce the takedown provisions, treating non-compliance as a deceptive or unfair trade practice. The Act limits platform liability for good-faith removals and includes exceptions for lawful disclosures, such as reporting to law enforcement, legal proceedings, or medical use. Criminal penalties include fines, imprisonment, restitution, and forfeiture, with higher penalties for offences involving minors. The covered platforms have a 1-year grace period until 19 May 2026 to implement the required notice and removal processes.