Klobuchar, Cruz Mark One Year of TAKE IT DOWN Act as FTC Enforcement Begins

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and?Ted Cruz (R-TX) highlighted the one-year anniversary of the TAKE IT DOWN Act being signed into law. Starting today, the Federal Trade Commission will begin to enforce the takedown and removal process mandated by the legislation, ensuring victims can request the removal of intimate pictures shared without their consent. Platforms like social media sites that receive a valid request must remove the content - along with any known identical copies - within 48 hours.

"One year ago, the TAKE IT DOWN Act was signed into law - a major bipartisan victory for victims of online abuse. This law gives people legal protections and new tools for when their intimate images are shared online without their consent, enabling law enforcement to hold perpetrators accountable for these heinous crimes," said Klobuchar. "Today, the provisions of the TAKE IT DOWN Act that require online platforms to remove non-consensual intimate images and deepfakes go into effect, ensuring Big Tech can no longer turn a blind eye to these horrifying abuses on social media. These images can ruin lives and reputations, and victims deserve to have the ability to get these abusive materials taken down swiftly."

"Today marks one year since my bipartisan TAKE IT DOWN Act became law, criminalizing the publication of real and deepfake revenge porn. As AI advances, technology needs to be used responsibly and not as a tool for abuse, harassment, or exploitation," said Cruz. "Victims now have the tools needed to reclaim their privacy and dignity, and Big Tech can no longer look the other way. We will keep working to protect Americans online and ensure technology serves people, not predators."

The bipartisan TAKE IT DOWN Act criminalizes the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including AI-generated NCII, and requires online platforms to implement procedures to remove such content within 48 hours of notice from a victim or their representative. The first conviction under the TAKE IT DOWN Act occurred on April 9, 2026, following the guilty plea of an Ohio man who used artificial intelligence to create and distribute non-consensual intimate images, including of minors.

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Permalink: https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2026/5/klobuchar-cruz-mark-one-year-of-take-it-down-act-as-ftc-enforcement-begins