Sponsors (42)
Official title: To require covered platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate visual depictions, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 22, 2025 by Maria Elvira Salazar · Last progress January 22, 2025
The bill strengthens remedies and rapid removal tools for victims of nonconsensual intimate-image sharing and clarifies enforcement, but it creates new moderation, compliance, and free-speech risks for platforms, nonprofits, and users and may deter some victims from seeking help.
People whose intimate images are shared without consent (especially women, minors, LGBTQ people, and other victims) gain a federal criminal remedy including potential restitution and criminal forfeiture of perpetrators' proceeds and property, increasing accountability and financial redress.
Minors receive stronger, higher-penalty protections (including penalties up to 3 years) for disclosure or digital forgeries targeting them, which raises the legal deterrent and protection for children and families.
Individuals whose intimate images were posted without consent can request removal and have platforms required to remove them quickly (within 48 hours), publish plain-language removal processes, and make reasonable efforts to identify and remove known identical copies, reducing repeated re-victimization and making remedies easier to access.
Platforms and users face increased moderation duties and potential criminal liability, likely raising operational costs and incentivizing rapid removals that can lead to over-removal or loss of lawful speech.
Broad statutory definitions (including a wide "digital forgery" standard) and fast takedown obligations create significant First Amendment and due-process risks by chilling lawful expression (satire, commentary) and producing wrongful removals.
Verification requirements for takedown requests (signature, ID, contact information) may deter victims—particularly those concerned about privacy or safety—from using the remedy, reducing access for the very people the law intends to help.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Criminalizes publishing nonconsensual intimate images (including deepfakes) and requires covered platforms to implement a notice-and-removal process with 48-hour takedowns.
Creates new criminal prohibitions on publishing nonconsensual intimate images and digitally forged “deepfake” intimate images via interactive computer services, with higher penalties for minors, mandatory forfeiture and restitution, and enumerated exceptions for law enforcement, medical, legal, and reporting. Requires covered online platforms to adopt a notice-and-removal process and remove identified nonconsensual intimate images (and known identical copies) within 48 hours of a valid request, gives the FTC enforcement authority over platform compliance, and defines covered platforms and key terms. Includes a severability clause so remaining provisions stay in force if any part is struck down.