When did platforms have to start removing images under the law?

The FTC’s compliance page gives the effective date of the notice-and-removal section as May 19, 2026. The law gave covered platforms one year after enactment to set up their process.

How fast does a platform have to act?

As soon as possible, and no later than 48 hours after it receives a valid request.

Do I have to find and report every copy?

No. The FTC says people who file a request do not need to report duplicate images. The law requires covered platforms to make reasonable efforts to find and remove known identical copies.

Can someone send the request for me?

Yes. The law lets an authorized person acting for the person shown submit it, with their own signature.

What if the person in the image is under 18?

Use NCMEC’s Take It Down and the CyberTipline, and don’t send the image to anyone. We do not take these matters as paid work.

Guide · TAKE IT DOWN Act

What a TAKE IT DOWN Act request needs

The TAKE IT DOWN Act is a federal law, Public Law 119-12, approved on May 19, 2025. Among other things, it requires covered platforms to run a process for removing intimate images published without consent. The FTC enforces that part, and its compliance page gives the effective date as May 19, 2026.

Last reviewed September 30, 2026 · Official sources checked September 30, 2026

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Before you start

What to have ready. Keep private images and files with you: none of these requests asks you to send them to us.

Your signature, physical or electronic, or that of someone authorized to act for you.
Where the image is: information reasonably sufficient for the platform to find it, such as its web address.
A brief statement that you believe in good faith the image was published without consent.
How the platform can contact you, or the person acting for you.
Keep the image itself to yourself. The request identifies where it is; if anyone in it may be under 18, go to NCMEC instead.

Five steps: find the platform’s notice-and-removal process, send a written request with the four parts the law lists, the platform must remove the image within 48 hours of a valid request, it must also make reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies, and if it does not act you can report it to the FTC.

What a covered platform must do

Set up a process for requests. The law gave covered platforms one year after enactment to do it.
Explain that process in a clear and conspicuous notice that is easy to read and in plain language. The FTC suggests platforms consider placing it on their home page and wherever intimate content might appear.
After a valid request, remove the image as soon as possible, and no later than 48 hours after receiving the request.
Make reasonable efforts to find and remove known identical copies. The FTC says people who file a request do not need to report the duplicates.

The law also protects a platform from liability for removing, in good faith, material claimed to be an intimate image published without consent.

What a valid request includes

The law lists four parts, in writing. The person shown can send it, or someone authorized to act for them:

A physical or electronic signature of the person shown, or of someone authorized to act for them.
Identification of the image, with information reasonably sufficient for the platform to locate it.
A brief statement that the person shown believes in good faith that the image is not consensual.
Information the platform can use to contact the person shown, or the person acting for them.

Which platforms it covers

Public websites, apps, and online services that mainly provide a forum for user-generated content, or that regularly publish intimate images shared without consent. The FTC’s examples include social media, messaging, image or video sharing, and gaming platforms. The law excludes broadband providers, email, and services that mostly show their own preselected content, where interactive features are incidental.

If a platform does not act

The FTC says a violation of the law is treated as a violation of an FTC rule, and that platforms that violate it may face civil penalties of $53,088 per violation. The FTC takes reports of violations on its own reporting site.

If anyone in the image may be under 18

Use NCMEC’s Take It Down and the CyberTipline, and don’t send the image to anyone, including us. We do not take these matters as paid work.

The full explainer

For the whole law, including the federal offense, the platform's 48 hours, and where the law stops, read our full explainer.

What the TAKE IT DOWN Act requires of platforms

Questions

When did platforms have to start removing images under the law?: The FTC’s compliance page gives the effective date of the notice-and-removal section as May 19, 2026. The law gave covered platforms one year after enactment to set up their process.
How fast does a platform have to act?: As soon as possible, and no later than 48 hours after it receives a valid request.
Do I have to find and report every copy?: No. The FTC says people who file a request do not need to report duplicate images. The law requires covered platforms to make reasonable efforts to find and remove known identical copies.
Can someone send the request for me?: Yes. The law lets an authorized person acting for the person shown submit it, with their own signature.
What if a platform ignores a valid request?: The FTC enforces the law. It says platforms that violate it may face civil penalties of $53,088 per violation, and it takes reports on its own reporting site.
What if the person in the image is under 18?: Use NCMEC’s Take It Down and the CyberTipline, and don’t send the image to anyone. We do not take these matters as paid work.

When doing it yourself is not enough

When images keep spreading after a platform request, our leaked photo page explains a private review with a person before any payment. Adults 18+.

Leaked photo removal

We are an independent removal agency, not the platform and not a law firm. The platform, search engine, or court makes the decision.

Official sources

Every fact above comes from these pages, read on September 30, 2026. Platforms change their forms; if a step looks different, the official page is the one to follow.