The United States has started enforcing a new law aimed at tackling sexual deepfakes and other forms of non-consensual intimate imagery online, putting major tech platforms under fresh pressure to act quickly against abusive content.
The law, known as the Take It Down Act, was signed by President Donald Trump last year. It makes it a criminal offence to distribute intimate images without consent, including fake sexually explicit content created with artificial intelligence tools.
Under the law, platforms such as Meta, TikTok, X and Snapchat must now provide a process for victims to report such content and remove it within 48 hours after receiving a valid complaint.
The US Federal Trade Commission warned companies that failure to comply could lead to penalties and investigations.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said protecting vulnerable people, especially children, remains a major priority for the agency.
The crackdown comes months after backlash against Grok, the AI chatbot linked to Elon Musk, after researchers said users generated millions of fake sexualized images, including those involving women and minors.
Despite support for tougher action, the law is already drawing criticism from digital rights advocates and free speech groups.
Riana Pfefferkorn of Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence warned that the law could encourage platforms to remove content too aggressively without properly verifying complaints.
Critics also fear the rules could be misused against transgender communities, consensual adult content creators, or political speech.
The rise of AI-generated deepfake pornography has become a growing concern worldwide, especially in schools and among teenagers. Experts say the technology is spreading faster than governments can regulate it, with victims often facing bullying, harassment, blackmail and serious mental health effects.
