I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8989 

To require covered platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate visual 

depictions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 10, 2024 

Ms. SALAZAR (for herself, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. PFLUGER, Ms. 

PLASKETT, Mr. BUCHANAN, and Mrs. DINGELL) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To require covered platforms to remove nonconsensual 

intimate visual depictions, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tools to Address 

5 Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological 

6 Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act’’ or the ‘‘TAKE 

7 IT DOWN Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CRIMINAL PROHIBITION ON INTENTIONAL DISCLO2 SURE OF NONCONSENSUAL INTIMATE VISUAL 

3 DEPICTIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 223 of the Communica5 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub7 section (i); and 

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(h) INTENTIONAL DISCLOSURE OF NONCONSEN11 SUAL INTIMATE VISUAL DEPICTIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

13 ‘‘(A) CONSENT.—The term ‘consent’ 

14 means an affirmative, conscious, and voluntary 

15 authorization made by an individual free from 

16 force, fraud, duress, misrepresentation, or coer17 cion. 

18 ‘‘(B) DEEPFAKE.—The term ‘deepfake’ 

19 means a video or image that is generated or 

20 substantially modified using machine-learning 

21 techniques or any other computer-generated or 

22 machine-generated means to falsely depict an 

23 individual’s appearance or conduct within an in24 timate visual depiction. 

25 ‘‘(C) IDENTIFIABLE INDIVIDUAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘identifi2 able individual’ means an individual— 

3 ‘‘(I) who appears in whole or in 

4 part in an intimate visual depiction; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(II) whose face, likeness, or 

7 other distinguishing characteristic (in8 cluding a unique birthmark or other 

9 recognizable feature) is displayed in 

10 connection with such intimate visual 

11 depiction. 

12 ‘‘(ii) APPEARS.—For purposes of 

13 clause (i), an individual appears in an inti14 mate visual depiction if— 

15 ‘‘(I) the individual is actually the 

16 individual identified in the intimate 

17 visual depiction; or 

18 ‘‘(II) a deepfake of the individual 

19 is used to realistically depict the indi20 vidual such that a reasonable person 

21 would believe the individual is actually 

22 depicted in the intimate visual depic23 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(D) INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE.— 

2 The term ‘interactive computer service’ has the 

3 meaning given the term in section 230. 

4 ‘‘(E) INTIMATE VISUAL DEPICTION.—The 

5 term ‘intimate visual depiction’ has the mean6 ing given such term in section 1309 of the Con7 solidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (15 U.S.C. 

8 6851). 

9 ‘‘(F) MINOR.—The term ‘minor’ means 

10 any individual under the age of 18 years. 

11 ‘‘(2) OFFENSE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) INVOLVING ADULTS.—Except as pro13 vided in subparagraph (C), it shall be unlawful 

14 for any person, in interstate or foreign com15 merce, to use an interactive computer service to 

16 knowingly publish an intimate visual depiction 

17 of an identifiable individual who is not a minor 

18 if— 

19 ‘‘(i) the intimate visual depiction was 

20 obtained or created under circumstances in 

21 which the person knew or reasonably 

22 should have known the identifiable indi23 vidual had a reasonable expectation of pri24 vacy; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) what is depicted was not volun2 tarily exposed by the identifiable individual 

3 in a public or commercial setting; 

4 ‘‘(iii) what is depicted is not a matter 

5 of public concern; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) publication of the intimate visual 

7 depiction— 

8 ‘‘(I) is intended to cause harm; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(II) causes harm, including psy11 chological, financial, or reputational 

12 harm, to the identifiable individual. 

13 ‘‘(B) INVOLVING MINORS.—Except as pro14 vided in subparagraph (C), it shall be unlawful 

15 for any person, in interstate or foreign com16 merce, to use an interactive computer service to 

17 knowingly publish an intimate visual depiction 

18 of an identifiable individual who is a minor with 

19 intent to— 

20 ‘‘(i) abuse, humiliate, harass, or de21 grade the minor; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) arouse or gratify the sexual de23 sire of any person. 

24 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.—Subparagraphs (A) 

25 and (B) shall not apply to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a lawfully authorized investiga2 tive, protective, or intelligence activity of— 

3 ‘‘(I) a law enforcement agency of 

4 the United States, a State, or a polit5 ical subdivision of a State; or 

6 ‘‘(II) an intelligence agency of 

7 the United States; 

8 ‘‘(ii) a disclosure made reasonably and 

9 in good faith— 

10 ‘‘(I) to a law enforcement officer 

11 or agency; 

12 ‘‘(II) as part of a document pro13 duction or filing associated with a 

14 legal proceeding; 

15 ‘‘(III) as part of medical edu16 cation, diagnosis, or treatment or for 

17 a legitimate medical, scientific, or 

18 education purpose; or 

19 ‘‘(IV) in the reporting of unlaw20 ful content or unsolicited or unwel21 come conduct or in pursuance of a 

22 legal, professional, or other lawful ob23 ligation; or 


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1 ‘‘(V) to seek support or help with 

2 respect to the receipt of an unsolicited 

3 intimate visual depiction; 

4 ‘‘(iii) a disclosure reasonably intended 

5 to assist the identifiable individual; or 

6 ‘‘(iv) a person who possesses or pub7 lishes an intimate visual depiction of him8 self or herself engaged in nudity or sexu9 ally explicit conduct (as that term is de10 fined in section 2256(2)(A) of title 18, 

11 United States Code). 

12 ‘‘(3) PENALTIES.— 

13 ‘‘(A) OFFENSES INVOLVING ADULTS.—Any 

14 person who violates paragraph (2)(A) shall be 

15 fined under title 18, United States Code, im16 prisoned not more than 2 years, or both. 

17 ‘‘(B) OFFENSES INVOLVING MINORS.—Any 

18 person who violates paragraph (2)(B) shall be 

19 fined under title 18, United States Code, im20 prisoned not more than 3 years, or both. 

21 ‘‘(4) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes 

22 of paragraph (2)— 

23 ‘‘(A) the fact that the identifiable indi24 vidual provided consent for the creation of the 

25 intimate visual depiction shall not establish that 


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1 the individual provided consent for the publica2 tion of the intimate visual depiction; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the fact that the identifiable indi4 vidual disclosed the intimate visual depiction to 

5 another individual shall not establish that the 

6 identifiable individual provided consent for the 

7 publication of the intimate visual depiction by 

8 the person alleged to have violated paragraph 

9 (2). 

10 ‘‘(5) THREATS.—Any person who intentionally 

11 threatens to commit an offense under paragraph (2) 

12 for the purpose of intimidation, coercion, extortion, 

13 or to create mental distress shall be punished as pro14 vided in paragraph (3). 

15 ‘‘(6) FORFEITURE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The court, in impos17 ing a sentence on any person convicted of a vio18 lation of subparagraph (2), shall order, in addi19 tion to any other sentence imposed and irre20 spective of any provision of State law, that the 

21 person forfeit to the United States— 

22 ‘‘(i) any material distributed in viola23 tion of that paragraph; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the person’s interest in property, 

25 real or personal, constituting or derived 


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1 from any gross proceeds of the violation, or 

2 any property traceable to such property, 

3 obtained or retained directly or indirectly 

4 as a result of the violation; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) any personal property of the 

6 person used, or intended to be used, in any 

7 manner or part, to commit or to facilitate 

8 the commission of the violation. 

9 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.—Section 413 of the 

10 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853), 

11 with the exception of subsections (a) and (d), 

12 shall apply to the criminal forfeiture of property 

13 under subparagraph (A). 

14 ‘‘(7) RESTITUTION.—The court shall order res15 titution for an offense under paragraph (2) in the 

16 same manner as under section 2264 of title 18, 

17 United States Code.’’. 

18 (b) DEFENSES.—Section 223(e)(1) of the Commu19 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223(e)(1)) is amended 

20 by striking ‘‘or (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘, (d), or (h)’’. 

21 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

22 Subsection (i) of section 223 of the Communications Act 

23 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223), as so redesignated by subsection 

24 (a), is amended by inserting ‘‘DEFINITIONS.—’’ before 

25 ‘‘For purposes of this section’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. NOTICE AND REMOVAL OF NONCONSENSUAL INTI2 MATE VISUAL DEPICTIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

4 (1) NOTICE AND REMOVAL PROCESS.— 

5 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 

6 year after the date of enactment of this Act, a 

7 covered platform shall establish a process 

8 whereby an identifiable individual (or an au9 thorized representative of such individual) 

10 may— 

11 (i) notify the covered platform of an 

12 intimate visual depiction published on the 

13 covered platform that— 

14 (I) includes a depiction of the 

15 identifiable individual; and 

16 (II) was published without the 

17 consent of the identifiable individual; 

18 and 

19 (ii) submit a request for the covered 

20 platform to remove such intimate visual 

21 depiction. 

22 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A notification and 

23 request for removal of an intimate visual depic24 tion submitted under the process established 

25 under subparagraph (A) shall include, in writ26 ing— 


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1 (i) a physical or electronic signature 

2 of the identifiable individual (or an author3 ized representative of such individual); 

4 (ii) an identification of the intimate 

5 visual depiction of the identifiable indi6 vidual; and 

7 (iii) a brief statement that the identi8 fiable individual has a good faith belief 

9 that any intimate visual depiction identi10 fied under clause (ii) is not consensual, in11 cluding any relevant information for the 

12 covered platform to determine the intimate 

13 visual depiction was published without the 

14 consent of the identifiable individual. 

15 (2) NOTICE OF PROCESS.—A covered platform 

16 shall provide on the platform a clear and con17 spicuous notice of the notice and removal process es18 tablished under paragraph (1)(A). 

19 (3) REMOVAL OF NONCONSENSUAL INTIMATE

20 VISUAL DEPICTIONS.—Upon receiving a valid re21 moval request from an identifiable individual (or an 

22 authorized representative of such individual) using 

23 the process described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), a cov24 ered platform shall remove the intimate visual depic25 tion and make reasonable efforts to remove any 


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1 identical copies of such depiction as soon as possible, 

2 but not later than 48 hours after receiving such re3 quest. 

4 (4) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—A covered plat5 form shall not be liable for any claim based on the 

6 covered platform’s good faith disabling of access to, 

7 or removal of, material claimed to be a nonconsen8 sual intimate visual depiction based on facts or cir9 cumstances from which the unlawful publishing of 

10 an intimate visual depiction is apparent, regardless 

11 of whether the intimate visual depiction is ultimately 

12 determined to be unlawful or not. 

13 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.— 

14 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC15 TICES.—A violation of this section shall be treated 

16 as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or a de17 ceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of 

18 the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

19 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

20 (2) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

22 subparagraph (D), the Commission shall en23 force this section in the same manner, by the 

24 same means, and with the same jurisdiction, 

25 powers, and duties as though all applicable 


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1 terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 

2 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were in3 corporated into and made a part of this section. 

4 (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 

5 person who violates this Act shall be subject to 

6 the penalties and entitled to the privileges and 

7 immunities provided in the Federal Trade Com8 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

9 (C) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in 

10 this Act shall be construed to limit the author11 ity of the Federal Trade Commission under any 

12 other provision of law. 

13 (D) SCOPE OF JURISDICTION.—Notwith14 standing sections 4, 5(a)(2), or 6 of the Federal 

15 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44, 45(a)(2), 

16 46), or any jurisdictional limitation of the Com17 mission, the Commission shall also enforce this 

18 section in the same manner provided in sub19 paragraph (A), with respect to organizations 

20 that are not organized to carry on business for 

21 their own profit or that of their members. 

22 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

25 means the Federal Trade Commission. 


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1 (2) CONSENT; DEEPFAKE; IDENTIFIABLE INDI2 VIDUAL; INTIMATE VISUAL DEPICTION.—The terms 

3 ‘‘consent’’, ‘‘deepfake’’, ‘‘identifiable individual’’, 

4 ‘‘intimate visual depiction’’, and ‘‘minor’’ have the 

5 meaning given such terms in section 223(h) of the 

6 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223), as 

7 added by section 2. 

8 (3) COVERED PLATFORM.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

10 platform’’ means a website, online service, on11 line application, or mobile application that— 

12 (i) serves the public; and 

13 (ii) primarily provides a forum for 

14 user-generated content, including mes15 sages, videos, images, games, and audio 

16 files. 

17 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘covered 

18 platform’’ shall not include the following: 

19 (i) A provider of broadband internet 

20 access service (as described in section 

21 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regula22 tions, or successor regulation). 

23 (ii) Electronic mail. 

24 (iii) An online service, application, or 

25 website— 


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1 (I) that consists primarily of con2 tent that is not user generated but is 

3 preselected by the provider of such on4 line service, application, or website; 

5 and 

6 (II) for which any chat, com7 ment, or interactive functionality is 

8 incidental to, directly related to, or 

9 dependent on the provision of the con10 tent described in subclause (I). 

Æ 


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