AI Frontier Institute

TAKE IT DOWN Act

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The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Section 1) amends Section 223 of the Communications Act of 1934 to create new federal criminal offenses and a platform takedown obligation targeting nonconsensual intimate visual depictions, including AI-generated 'digital forgeries.' Section 2 adds new subsection 223(h), which makes it unlawful to knowingly publish, via an interactive computer service in interstate or foreign commerce, an authentic intimate visual depiction of an adult without their consent under circumstances where they had a reasonable expectation of privacy and where publication causes or is intended to cause harm (psychological, financial, or reputational). For minors, the bar is lower: publication with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or sexually gratify is prohibited regardless of harm. Parallel offenses apply to 'digital forgeries'—AI- or software-generated depictions indistinguishable from authentic ones. Penalties under Section 2 include up to 2 years imprisonment for offenses involving adults, up to 3 years for offenses involving minors, and up to 18 or 30 months for threats involving digital forgeries of adults or minors respectively. Courts must also order forfeiture of materials and proceeds and restitution to victims. Exceptions cover law enforcement activities, good-faith disclosures to authorities, medical or educational purposes, legal proceedings, and self-depictions. Section 3 requires 'covered platforms'—broadly defined as public-facing user-generated content services—to establish a notice-and-removal process within one year of enactment. Upon receiving a valid removal request, platforms must remove the content and make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies within 48 hours. Failure to comply is treated as an unfair or deceptive trade practice enforceable by the FTC under Section 3(b), including over nonprofit organizations. Section 4 defines key terms including 'covered platform,' which excludes broadband providers, email services, and primarily non-user-generated content services. Section 5 includes a severability clause.

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