John, we have great news.

After months of advocacy, the Take It Down Act passed the US Congress and was signed into law by President Trump on Monday, May 19. This is a huge win for women and girls who are particularly vulnerable to image-based sexual abuse, including deepfake imagery.

The Take It Down Act, which had broad bipartisan support, makes it a federal crime to post sexually-explicit content, including AI-generated deepfakes, without the person’s consent. Digital platforms will also be required to remove the content within 48 hours of the survivor’s or their representative’s request.

Our work to end sexual exploitation, including OSEA, has brought us to the frontlines of addressing harmful behaviors like online grooming, online sexual coercion and extortion, online sex trafficking, and image-based sexual abuse. 

As part of our efforts to encourage stronger protections in the digital realm, such as the Take It Down Act, we supported our network of partners by providing an international lens and highlighting the United States’ obligations under international law. We advocated for additional protections during a government listening session last November; raised the issue of OSEA at international events; and hosted two panel discussions at the United Nations (UN) in March. The hard work of our partners and the strength of survivors, supported by our efforts, led to the successful passage of the Take It Down Act.

This victory comes not long after another digital rights win in 2024 in which Equality Now played a key role in advocating for a gendered lens in the Global Digital Compact, an international agreement meant to ensure a free and secure digital future for all. Our efforts, which involved providing feminist intersectional analysis and building survivor-informed evidence, resulted in a standalone gender principle that will help ensure that the experiences of women and girls are increasingly reflected in future UN-level digital regulations, creating a safer digital world for all.

While the full impact of the Take It Down Act is still to be seen, we know that image-based sexual abuse seriously impacts a person’s life, affecting their mental and physical health, and consequentially their financial stability, and in some circumstances, leading to suicide. When we consider the number of people impacted by OSEA in the United States, the significance of this success becomes even clearer:

The Take It Down Act will create a new avenue through which survivors can access justice, as well as provide a deterrent to potential offenders. While there is still more to do in enacting and implementing laws targeting OSEA, we are optimistic about the progress made thus far. Thank you for helping to make this possible and for joining us in making the world a safer place for women and girls.

In solidarity,
Amy Hutchinson
Global Director of Development