All Roll Calls
Yes: 409 • No: 2
119-s-146119th CongressWALLET
TAKE IT DOWN Act
Sponsored By: Senator Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
Became Law
Summary
Prohibits nonconsensual intimate visual depictions and digital forgeries. This law criminalizes publishing intimate images or indistinguishable deepfakes of people without their consent and requires covered platforms to set up notice-and-removal systems and take down reported material promptly.
Show full summary
- Targeted individuals can obtain criminal penalties, mandatory restitution, and court-ordered forfeiture of materials and proceeds. Adult offenses carry up to 2 years in prison and offenses involving minors carry up to 3 years, and threats to publish are also criminalized.
- Covered platforms defined as public websites or apps that host user-generated content must establish a formal notice-and-removal process within 1 year and remove valid reports as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours. Platforms must try to remove known identical copies and receive a liability shield when they act in good faith.
- The Federal Trade Commission may enforce platform obligations as unfair or deceptive acts and seek civil penalties. The law also preserves narrow law-enforcement exceptions and clarifies defenses, including that consent to create a depiction is not consent to publish it.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Criminal ban on intimate images and deepfakes
The law makes it a federal crime to use an online service in interstate or foreign commerce to publish someone’s intimate image without consent, or a deepfake that looks real. For adults, the offender must know the person expected privacy and intend harm or cause harm; penalties include fines or up to 2 years in prison. For minors, publishing with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or for sexual arousal is punished by fines or up to 3 years. It is also a crime to threaten to publish such images; threats about real images carry the same penalties as the crime, and threats about deepfakes carry up to 18 months (adults) or 30 months (minors). Courts must order restitution to victims and forfeit materials, proceeds, and property used in the crime. Consent to create or privately share an image is not consent to publish it. The law aligns available defenses with existing Communications Act protections.
48-hour takedowns on online platforms
Covered public-facing websites and apps that host user content must set up a written notice-and-takedown process within 1 year. A valid request must include a signature, enough information to find the image, a short good‑faith statement that it was posted without consent, and contact details. After a valid request, the platform must remove the image as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours, and try to remove identical copies. If a platform does not reasonably follow these rules, the FTC treats it as an unfair or deceptive practice and can enforce and penalize, including for some nonprofits. Platforms that act in good faith to remove material they reasonably think is unlawful are not liable for removing it, even if it is later found lawful.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
TX • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV]
WV • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
CT • D
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]
LA • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
NJ • D
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY]
WY • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV]
NV • D
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY]
WY • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO]
CO • D
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC]
NC • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]
TN • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS]
MS • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Young, Todd [R-IN]
IN • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Curtis, John R. [R-UT]
UT • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT]
MT • R
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Warnock, Raphael G. [D-GA]
GA • D
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
NM • D
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI]
MI • D
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA]
CA • D
Sponsored 1/21/2025
Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]
NV • D
Sponsored 2/5/2025
Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
NH • D
Sponsored 2/6/2025
Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
MN • D
Sponsored 1/16/2025
Roll Call Votes
house vote • 4/28/2025
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
Yes: 409 • No: 2