H.R. 633 — TAKE IT DOWN Act

This section amends Section 223 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223) by adding a new subsection (h) that establishes criminal prohibitions on knowingly using an interactive computer service, in interstate or foreign commerce, to publish nonconsensensual intimate visual depictions (as defined in 15 U.S.C. 6851)—including both authentic depictions and digital forgeries—of identifiable adults or minors. (1) For authentic depictions of adults, the prohibition applies if the depiction was obtained or created with a reasonable expectation of privacy, was not voluntarily exposed publicly or commercially, is not a matter of public concern, and the publication intends or causes harm (psychological, financial, or reputational); for minors, it applies with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse/gratify sexual desire. (2) For digital forgeries (i.e., AI-generated or manipulated depictions indistinguishable from authentic ones), the prohibition applies without the individual's consent if the depicted conduct was not voluntarily exposed publicly or commercially, is not a matter of public concern, and intends or causes harm (same criteria for adults and minors as above). (3) Exceptions include law enforcement/intelligence activities; good-faith disclosures to law enforcement, in legal/medical/educational contexts, or to seek help; disclosures to assist the individual; self-publication; and content constituting child pornography or obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse. (Thus, the provision targets nonconsensual "revenge porn" and deepfakes while protecting legitimate uses and referencing the existing civil remedy at 15 U.S.C. 6851.)

This section requires covered platforms to establish, not later than one year after the date of enactment, a process enabling identifiable individuals (or authorized persons acting on their behalf) to notify the platform of and request removal of nonconsensual intimate visual depictions of the individual, including a physical or electronic signature, depiction location, good faith statement of nonconsent, and contact information. Covered platforms must post conspicuous notice of the process in plain language; remove validly requested depictions as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours after receipt; and make reasonable efforts to remove identical copies, with liability protection for good faith removals. This section treats noncompliance as a violation of FTC rules defining unfair or deceptive acts or practices (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)), authorizes Federal Trade Commission enforcement in the same manner as under the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) including against nonprofit organizations notwithstanding certain jurisdictional limitations (15 U.S.C. 44, 45(a)(2), 46). (Thus, the provision expands FTC authority beyond for-profit entities for these requirements.)

This section establishes definitions for purposes of the Act, including (1) "Commission" as the Federal Trade Commission; (2) "consent," "digital forgery," "identifiable individual," "intimate visual depiction," and "minor" as having the meanings given those terms in new section 223(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223(h)), as added by section 2 of this Act; and (3) "covered platform" as a website, online service, online application, or mobile application that serves the public and either primarily provides a forum for user-generated content (e.g., messages, videos, images, games, audio files) or, in the regular course of business, publishes, curates, hosts, or makes available nonconsensual intimate visual depictions. The term excludes (i) broadband internet access service providers; (ii) electronic mail; and (iii) online services, applications, or websites consisting primarily of provider-preselected non-user-generated content where any chat, comment, or interactive functionality is incidental to, related to, or dependent on that content (except as specified for platforms that publish nonconsensual intimate visual depictions).

This section provides a severability clause stating that the invalidity of any provision of the Act or its amendments does not affect the remaining provisions.