How do you get a deepfake intimate image taken down?

A fabricated nude or sexual image can be made from one ordinary photo and posted in minutes. The law now gives you a direct removal route that does not depend on owning a copyright or proving who made the image. Our page on personal brand, likeness and synthetic media covers the wider rights in your identity; this page is the practical guide to getting an intimate fake removed and what else you can do, based on the TAKE IT DOWN Act (Pub. L. 119-12) and the Federal Trade Commission's guidance.

How removal works, step by step

1. Record where it is. Write down each URL, the account name, the platform and the date and time you found it. You will need the location for the request, and the FTC's report form asks where the image was posted.
2. Find the platform's removal process. A covered platform must post a "clear and conspicuous notice" of its process, in plain language (Pub. L. 119-12, section 3(a)(2)). The FTC says to look for a report option on the post itself or in the platform's help center, and that you should not have to create an account to ask.
3. Submit a written request with the four required items. The table below lists them. You, or "an authorized person acting on behalf of" you, can send it.
4. The 48-hour clock runs. The platform must remove the image "as soon as possible, but not later than 48 hours after receiving such request," and make reasonable efforts to find and remove known identical copies (section 3(a)(3)). The FTC says you do not need to report the duplicates yourself.
5. Keep the request number. The FTC's business guidance tells platforms to give each request an identifying number and to tell you whether they removed the content, or why not.
6. If it stays up, report the platform. After 48 hours, or if there is no working process, report the platform to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov. You can report for yourself, your child, or someone who gave you permission.
7. Limit the spread and report the person. The FTC points adults to StopNCII.org and minors' families to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's Take It Down service, which share a digital fingerprint of the image with participating platforms. It also says to report perpetrators to local police and the FBI at tips.fbi.gov.

What must a valid request include?

Section 3(a)(1)(B) lists four items, all "in writing." If you own the copyright in the original photo, a DMCA notice is a second route with different requirements, explained on our page about what a DMCA takedown notice must include. The table compares the two.

A request that a platform cannot act on wastes time, so identify every post and copy you know of by its exact link, and say plainly that you did not consent to publication. Under the Act's definitions, consent means "an affirmative, conscious, and voluntary authorization."

Which sites and apps must comply?

A "covered platform" is a public website, online service or app that primarily provides a forum for user-generated content, such as messages, videos, images, games and audio, or that regularly publishes or hosts nonconsensual intimate content (section 4(3)). The FTC lists social media, messaging, image or video sharing, and gaming platforms as examples.

Three groups are excluded: broadband internet providers, email, and sites made up mainly of content the provider preselects, where comments or chat are incidental. A platform that removes material in good faith is protected from claims over that removal, even if the image is later found lawful (section 3(a)(4)). For sites outside the Act, the other takedown tools on our internet law and online takedowns page may still work.

The FTC enforces section 3. A failure to reasonably comply is treated as a violation of an FTC rule on unfair or deceptive practices (section 3(b)), and as of the FTC's current business guidance, read October 4, 2026, platforms may face civil penalties of $53,088 per violation. The FTC announced in May 2026 that it had begun enforcing the Act, and said its Chairman had sent reminder letters to major platforms the week before.

What else can you do besides removal?

Removal is the first goal, not the only one. The table below sets out the other legal routes and what each one does.

The civil statute needs care. Section 6851, as printed in the 2024 U.S. Code, covers an "intimate visual depiction" of an identifiable individual and does not expressly mention fabricated images, so whether it reaches a fully generated fake is a question to analyze on your facts. A suit also needs a defendant; when the poster is anonymous, our page on identifying an anonymous account holder explains how courts can order platforms to disclose who is behind an account.

The copyright route depends on who took the original. If you took the selfie, you usually own it; if a photographer did, they usually do, as our page on who owns a photo of you explains. A fake made from a stranger's photo of you cannot be removed by you under the DMCA. If the same account keeps reposting fakes built from your photo, our page on platform repeat infringer policies explains when a platform must act against the account. If a non-intimate AI copy of your face or voice is the problem, see our page on AI copies of your voice or face.

What changes the answer

• Adult or minor. For minors, the federal crime turns on intent to abuse, humiliate, harass or degrade, or to gratify sexual desire, and penalties are higher (47 U.S.C. 223(h)(3)(B) and (4)(B), as added by Pub. L. 119-12).
• Consent to creation is not consent to publication. The Act says that consenting to the creation of an image, or sharing it with one person, does not establish consent to its publication (section 2, new paragraph (5)).
• Elements and exceptions. The adult offense requires that the forgery was published without consent, that what is depicted was not voluntarily exposed in a public or commercial setting, and that it is not a matter of public concern; there are exceptions for law enforcement, legal proceedings and reports of unlawful content.
• Whether the site is covered. Email and sites of mainly preselected content are outside the 48-hour duty (section 4(3)(B)). Then platform policies, the DMCA or a court order are the routes.
• Who owns the source photo. Only the copyright owner can use 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3).
• Where the poster is. Georgia's criminal statute and the federal crime both depend on the facts of the posting and where prosecutors can act.

A worked example

Common mistakes

• Sending the image around for help. Share links and descriptions, not copies, and use fingerprinting tools the FTC names instead of uploading the image to strangers.
• Using only the general "report post" button. A community-guidelines report may not trigger the 48-hour legal duty; use the platform's TAKE IT DOWN process where one exists.
• Leaving out locations. The request must include information "reasonably sufficient" to locate the image.
• Paying a blackmailer. The FTC says not to pay, not to send images and to cut off contact, and to report the threat to police and the FBI.
• Claiming a copyright you do not own. A DMCA notice is signed under penalty of perjury; see our page on what happens after a DMCA counter-notice for how a disputed notice plays out.
• Waiting to act. Copies multiply; the 48-hour clock only starts when you send a valid request.

What to do this week

1. List every URL, account name and platform, with the date you found each.
2. Submit a TAKE IT DOWN request to each platform and save each request number.
3. Set a reminder for 48 hours after each request; report any platform that misses it at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.
4. Use StopNCII.org (adults) or NCMEC's Take It Down (minors) to block re-uploads on participating platforms.
5. File a police report and an FBI tip at tips.fbi.gov, especially if anyone threatened you.
6. If you took the original photo, prepare a DMCA notice for sites outside the Act.
7. If you want to identify the poster or seek damages, talk to counsel about a subpoena and a civil claim; our page on federal lawsuits in Atlanta explains how a federal case starts.

Frequently asked questions

Does the law cover images made entirely by AI?

Yes, for intimate images of an identifiable person. The Act defines a "digital forgery" as an intimate depiction created through software, machine learning, artificial intelligence or other technological means that a reasonable person would find "indistinguishable from an authentic visual depiction."

Can someone else send the request for me?

Yes. An "authorized person acting on behalf of" the depicted individual can submit it, and the FTC allows reports on someone else's behalf with their permission.

Will the platform tell the person who posted it?

The Act does not require the platform to notify the poster, and it has no counter-notice step like the DMCA. Platforms may still have their own policies on notifying users.

What if the image is a fake of my child?

The same 48-hour removal duty applies, and the FTC points families to NCMEC's Take It Down service and CyberTipline. Publishing or threatening to publish a forgery of a minor carries higher federal penalties.

Can I sue the platform?

Section 3 assigns enforcement of the removal duty to the FTC and does not itself create a right for individuals to sue the platform, and it protects platforms that remove content in good faith. Claims against the person who posted it are a separate matter.

Does the Act cover real intimate images too, not only fakes?

Yes. The removal duty applies to any intimate visual depiction of you published without your consent, real or forged, and the criminal provisions cover both authentic images and digital forgeries.

Zala IP Law helps creators and individuals respond to unauthorized uses of their image online, including takedown notices and the copyright and likeness issues around them, and Shreepal J. Zala practices federal intellectual property law nationally. If an image of you is circulating and the platform is not acting, request a consultation or call 404-313-1701.