Does the TAKE IT DOWN Act Apply to Your Platform?

If your business runs a website, app, or online service where users can post, upload, message, or share content with each other, a federal takedown law may now apply to you. Here is what it actually requires and how to tell if it reaches your platform.

Congress enacted the TAKE IT DOWN Act on May 19, 2025. Covered platforms were required to have the Act’s notice-and-removal process in place by May 19, 2026, and the Federal Trade Commission began enforcing that requirement on that date. The Act requires certain online platforms to let people request removal of nonconsensual intimate images and to act on those requests within a strict deadline.

Key takeaways: A “covered platform” is defined by statute — it serves the public and either primarily hosts user-generated content or regularly hosts this kind of imagery. The 48-hour removal window and the duty to find known identical copies are statutory requirements; non-account-holder access, tracking numbers, and hash matching are FTC-recommended practices, not legal mandates. Violations can carry civil penalties of up to $53,088 each, and the FTC is already enforcing.

What the Act Requires

The law requires “covered platforms” to (1) establish a process for people to request removal of a nonconsensual intimate visual depiction — including AI-generated “digital forgeries,” not just real photos or video — and (2) remove the reported content, along with known identical copies, within 48 hours of a valid request. The FTC enforces this notice-and-removal requirement.

Is Your Business a “Covered Platform”?

The definition is broad, but it is not unlimited. A “covered platform” is a website, online service, online application, or mobile application that serves the public and either:

• primarily provides a forum for user-generated content, such as messages, videos, images, games, or audio files; or
• regularly, in the course of business, publishes, curates, hosts, or makes available content consisting of nonconsensual intimate visual depictions.

The Act excludes broadband internet-access providers and email. It also excludes certain services that primarily provide provider-selected, non-user-generated content, where interactive features are merely incidental — unless the service falls within the second part of the definition. 47 U.S.C. § 223a.

What the Act Requires — and What the FTC Recommends

Statutory requirements:

• A clear and conspicuous, plain-language notice explaining the removal-request process.
• A process for an identifiable individual, or an authorized person acting for them, to submit a written removal request containing the required information.
• Removal of the reported intimate visual depiction as soon as possible, and no later than 48 hours after receiving a valid request.
• Reasonable efforts during that period to identify and remove known identical copies.

FTC-recommended practices — not statutory requirements:

• Designing the process so people without a platform account can readily use it.
• Placing reporting tools where users can find them easily, including near relevant content.
• Providing a request-identification number and status updates.
• Using hash matching and considering participation in StopNCII.org or NCMEC’s Take It Down service.

47 U.S.C. § 223a; FTC, Complying With the Take It Down Act.

What’s at Stake

A platform’s failure to reasonably comply with the Act’s notice-and-takedown obligations is treated as a violation of an FTC rule. The statute incorporates the FTC Act’s enforcement framework; the FTC’s current guidance states that violations may result in civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. Enforcement began May 19, 2026, and the FTC has already sent compliance letters to major platforms and opened a public complaint portal (TakeItDown.ftc.gov) where users can report noncompliant platforms directly.

47 U.S.C. § 223a; FTC guidance, above; FTC, FTC Begins Enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act (May 19, 2026).

What This Means for Growing Companies

A SaaS product, marketplace, community feature, or AI-enabled service should assess whether it is a covered platform under the Act. The answer depends on the statutory definition, including whether the service serves the public and primarily provides a forum for user-generated content. A business that is covered should ensure its intake and removal workflow can satisfy the Act’s specific notice-and-removal obligations. This is a natural companion question to the ones we cover in marketplace agreements for SaaS platforms and in deciding whether you need terms of service at all — a platform’s user-generated-content policies and its takedown obligations are two parts of the same operational picture.

How Accord & Shield Legal Helps

Whether the TAKE IT DOWN Act reaches your platform is a fact-specific question tied to your product’s actual content model, not a label you can self-assign from a blog post. If you run a SaaS product, marketplace, or AI-enabled service that lets users upload, generate, or share content, talk with us about AI governance and platform compliance, or review your SaaS agreements and platform terms more broadly.

This article provides general information, not legal advice. Whether a particular business is a “covered platform” under the TAKE IT DOWN Act depends on its specific product, content model, and operations. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For guidance on your specific situation, please consult a qualified attorney.