The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act) was signed into United States federal law on May 19, 2025.
The Take It Down Act focuses on two main goals:
- Criminalization: The TID Act makes it a federal crime to knowingly publish non-consensual intimate imagery (including synthetic digital media and deepfakes) with the intent to distribute it.
- Mandatory Removal: The TID Act requires covered platforms (social media sites, search engines, and web hosts) to remove reported NCII within 48 hours of receiving a valid notification from a survivor or their authorized representative.
U.S.-based websites and hosting providers have until May 19, 2026, to fully implement formal notice-and-removal systems. Many major platforms, such as Namecheap, have begun updating their reporting tools to stay ahead of the deadline.
While the law is powerful against U.S.-based companies like Meta, Google, or X, this law faces two major limitations: offshore hosting and the role of domain registrars.
The Offshore Hosting Loophole
The U.S. government has limited jurisdiction over “offshore” hosting providers, servers located in countries that do not recognize U.S. federal law or have lax digital safety regulations. If an NCSEI site is hosted in a jurisdiction that ignores U.S. subpoenas or takedown notices, the 48-hour removal rule cannot be enforced.
The Registrar Limitation
Many survivors try to contact the Domain Registrar (the company where the website name was purchased, like Namecheap or Tucows) to get a site shut down. However, the Take It Down Act primarily targets the infrastructure that host the content. Domain registrars often claim they do not have the technical ability to remove specific content without shutting down the entire website, which they are often hesitant to do.
How to Use the Take It Down Act
If you are a victim of NCSEI being distributed by a U.S. based company, you can leverage the Act by:
- Issuing a Formal Notice: When reporting to a site, specifically cite the Take It Down Act and the 48-hour requirement.
- FTC Complaints: If a U.S.-based platform fails to remove the content within 48 hours, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which oversees compliance.
The Take It Down Act is a game changer for dealing with U.S. based platforms and domestic hosts. It requires U.S. based webhosts to remove NCSEI within 48 hours, and provides legal leverage to allow the FTC to fine companies that ignore victims.
However, for those dealing with offshore hosts or dedicated NCSEI forums, the Act is only one piece of the puzzle. Survivors frequently still need to continuously submit takedown requests, chase down bulletproof hosting providers, look out for new links that require search engine de-indexing, and facilitate international cooperation of government authorities.
This post was last updated on December 23, 2025.
