Deepfake Removal Without a Lawyer: What the TAKE IT DOWN Act Lets You Do

What the law gives you

• A 48-hour deadline. A covered platform must remove the image “as soon as possible, but not later than 48 hours after receiving” a valid request. That is section 3 of the TAKE IT DOWN Act (Public Law 119-12).
• Copies come down too. The platform must also make “reasonable efforts to identify and remove any known identical copies.”
• AI fakes count. The Act covers a “digital forgery”: an intimate image made or altered with software that a reasonable person could not tell from a real one. The FTC says these images “may be real, digitally altered, or deepfakes created with artificial intelligence” (FTC consumer guidance).
• A regulator enforces it. The FTC began enforcing the rule on May 19, 2026. Its guidance to businesses warns of “civil penalties of $53,088 per violation” (FTC business guidance).

The FTC describes covered platforms as “social media, messaging, image or video sharing, and gaming platforms.” You do not need an account on the site. The same guidance tells platforms the protections “are not limited to individuals who hold an account on your platform.”

You can do this alone because the request is a short form or message. If you would rather not look at the page again, the Act also accepts a request from a person you have authorized to act for you, such as a friend you trust.

This guide is general information for adults in the United States. It is not legal advice. The facts were checked against the statute and the FTC’s pages on October 12, 2026.

Before you report: ten minutes of notes

1. Copy the exact link of every page where the image appears. The platform needs the link to find it.
2. Write down the username that posted it, and the date and time you found it.
3. Take a screenshot that shows the link and the username, and keep it somewhere private. It does not need to show the image clearly. Once the post is gone, this is your record for a police report.
4. Do not message the person who posted it. Contact gives them a reaction and can warn them to move the image.

The request: four things, and a template

The Act says a valid request is in writing and includes these four things:

1. Your signature. The statute accepts “a physical or electronic signature,” so a typed name works.
2. Where the image is. Information “reasonably sufficient for the covered platform to locate” it. In practice, the link.
3. A short good-faith statement that the image was published without your consent.
4. How to reach you. An email address or a phone number.

Copy this and fill in the brackets:

Most platforms have their own form. Use it, and paste these details where they fit. Then save a copy of what you sent and note the time, because the 48 hours start when the platform receives your request.

Where to send it

• If you have an account: open the post and look for a report option on or near it. The FTC notes this is often three dots in the upper right corner.
• If you do not: search the platform’s help center for how to report an intimate image shared without permission.
• If you cannot find a contact: the FTC points adults to the directory of platform contacts kept by StopNCII.org.

A platform that makes you open an account before it will take your request is one the FTC wants to hear about. The next section covers how to report it.

If the site ignores you

1. Report the platform to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov once 48 hours have passed. Give the platform’s name and where the image was posted. You can also report a platform that has no removal process, or a broken one.
2. Ask Google to drop the links. Google removes fake sexual imagery from Search when you can be identified in it, it falsely shows you nude or in a sexual situation, and it was shared without your consent (Google’s form). Google reviews only the links you submit, so list every one.
3. Ask Bing as well. Bing’s content removal form has an option for non-consensual intimate imagery. Check the form itself for the current steps.
4. Go to the host. If the site is run from outside the US or hides its owner, look up which company hosts it and write to that company’s abuse address with the same request.

A search removal hides the page from people who look you up. The image stays on the site until the site or its host removes it, which is why step 1 comes first. The FTC is plain about who can delete it: “Only platforms can take down intimate photos and videos shared without your consent.”

Stop it being posted again

The FTC points adults to StopNCII.org, which it describes as “a free global tool operated by the non-profit Revenge Porn Helpline.”

• You need a copy of the image. The tool works from the file.
• The image stays on your device. StopNCII.org says it generates a hash, “also known as a digital fingerprint,” on your device, and that the hash is sent “but not the image/video itself” (how it works).
• Participating platforms look for matches to that fingerprint.

Keep the links you saved, and report any new copy you find to the platform it is on as well.

Report the person, too

Getting the image down and reporting the person who posted it are separate steps, and you can do both.

• Publishing it is a federal crime. Under the Act, knowingly publishing an intimate image or digital forgery of an adult without consent carries up to 2 years in prison.
• So is the threat. Threatening to publish a digital forgery of an adult carries up to 18 months.
• Where to report: your local police, and the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI.

If someone is demanding money

The FTC’s advice is short. Do not pay. Do not send more images or give access to your accounts. Block the person and stop replying. Then report it to the police and the FBI.

What the law does not cover

• Deepfakes that are not intimate. The 48-hour rule applies to intimate images. A fake advert with your face, or a face-swap into an ordinary video, falls outside it. Use the platform’s impersonation or manipulated-media report for those, and check the law in your state.
• Email and internet providers. The Act excludes both from its definition of a covered platform.
• Edited copies. The duty is to remove “known identical copies.” A cropped or re-edited version may need its own request.
• Sites with no ties to the US. Some will not answer. Use the search-engine and host routes above.
• Going to court yourself. Enforcement of the removal rule belongs to the FTC. Whether you can sue a platform or a person is a question for a lawyer.

When you do want a lawyer

Removal is the part you can handle alone. These three situations are worth paid advice:

• You want money from the person who did it. That is a civil claim under other laws, with deadlines of its own.
• You do not know who posted it and want a court to make the platform say.
• It is tied to an ex-partner, your job or ongoing harassment, and you may need a protective order.

For support that is not legal, the FTC lists the National Domestic Violence Hotline: call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.

Common doubts

“Do I have to prove it is fake?”

No. The Act asks for a short good-faith statement that the image was published without your consent. It also protects a platform that removes an image in good faith, “regardless of whether the intimate visual depiction is ultimately determined to be unlawful or not,” so taking it down is the safe choice for the platform.

“It was made with AI. Does that really count?”

Yes, if it is intimate and looks real. The Act names digital forgeries, and the FTC’s guidance names deepfakes.

“Will reporting it make more people see it?”

A removal request is sent to the platform’s review team and does not appear on the post. Share the link only with the platform, the FTC and the police.

“Does FacePrivacy remove deepfakes?”

No. Everything above is free and you can do it yourself. We do a different job: we file opt-out requests with face-search engines such as PimEyes and FaceCheck.ID, so that one photo of you stops leading a stranger to others. That will not take down an image that is already posted.

“Can I do those opt-outs myself as well?”

Yes. Start with how to opt out of facial recognition and how to remove your face from PimEyes. The work is repeating it on each engine as they re-crawl the web, and that repetition is the part we take over.

“What does it cost?”

US$9.99 a month, or US$7.99 a month billed annually. Cancel from your dashboard whenever you like. Web payments made through Stripe carry a 30-day money-back guarantee.