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When images are the weapon: NCII and deepfakes

Last reviewed 2026-07-29

This is not your fault

If someone has shared, or is threatening to share, an intimate image or video of you — real or AI-generated — none of what follows is a consequence of anything you did wrong. That includes images you took or shared yourself in a private relationship: consenting to create or send an image is not consent to anyone else distributing it, a distinction the DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women spells out for the federal civil claim described below.

A photo shielded and hashed before it can spread

You have a federal takedown law behind you, two free removal tools, and organizations that specialize in this. Before requesting anything come down, though, there’s one decision to make first.

Preserve evidence before you request removal — this order matters

It’s tempting to get the image taken down immediately and move on. But the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative’s Safety Center warns that removing images before you or a legal professional collect digital evidence can destroy that evidence — and says to “consider this carefully before requesting image removal.” If you might report to police, pursue a civil claim, or file a criminal report, preserve first.

Concretely, before you submit any takedown request:

For the fuller mechanics of documenting abuse, see documenting it and getting help. If a partner or ex may have ongoing access to your accounts or device, read safety first before changing settings or logging anyone out — some actions can tip someone off.

The federal law: the TAKE IT DOWN Act

Congress passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act — the Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act — and President Trump signed it on May 19, 2025, per congress.gov’s record of S.146. It does two things.

It criminalizes publishing nonconsensual intimate images, including AI-generated ones, effective the day it was signed, May 19, 2025 — the bill text delays only the platform takedown duty below, not the criminal provisions. The enrolled bill text covers both authentic depictions and “digital forgeries” — defined there as content “created through the use of software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other computer-generated or technological means” that, viewed as a whole, is “indistinguishable from an authentic visual depiction of the individual.” For adults, the government must show nonconsensual publication that caused or was intended to cause harm; for minors, prosecutors only need knowing publication with intent to abuse, harass, or gratify. The FTC confirms the Act “criminalizes the publication of nonconsensual intimate visual depictions.”

It also requires “covered platforms” to build a takedown process, enforceable a year later, on May 19, 2026. Under FTC guidance for businesses, covered platforms — social media, messaging, image/video sharing, and gaming platforms, among others — must let a person request removal of a nonconsensual intimate image, including a digital forgery, and must “remove the content and known identical copies within 48 hours” of a valid request. The FTC’s own announcement confirms it “began enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act” on that deadline, having sent compliance-reminder letters to major platforms beforehand, including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Snapchat, and TikTok.

The FTC — not a court, not you directly — enforces this duty, treating a violation as violating an FTC rule, with civil penalties up to $53,088 per violation, per its business guidance. Its consumer page explains the sequence: ask the platform first; “they have 48 hours to remove it and identical copies”; only if it doesn’t comply, or has no removal process, do you report the platform itself at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.

What to actually do, in order

  1. Preserve evidence first, as above.
  2. Ask the platform directly. Per the FTC, the path varies — with an account, look for a report option near the content (often three dots in a corner); without one, search the platform’s help center. A platform requiring an account just to request removal is itself reportable to the FTC.
  3. If you’re an adult, submit the image to StopNCII.org to help stop it from reappearing (details below).
  4. If the platform misses the 48-hour window, or has no working process, report the platform at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.
  5. If someone is threatening you or demanding money or more images, that’s a separate crime — report it to police and the FBI, covered further down.

StopNCII.org: for adults, before or after something is posted

StopNCII.org is a free tool, coordinated by the UK charity SWGfL with the Revenge Porn Helpline leading the work, that generates a “hash” — a digital fingerprint — of an intimate image or video on your own device. The image itself never leaves your device; only the hash is submitted. Per its how-it-works page:

  1. You select an intimate image or video already on your device.
  2. StopNCII.org generates a hash of it locally.
  3. You get a case number and PIN — keep both, because a lost PIN isn’t recoverable.
  4. Participating platforms compare uploads against that hash and remove matches that violate their own intimate-image policies.
  5. StopNCII continues checking for matches on participating platforms over time.
  6. You can check your case status, or withdraw it, at any time using your case number and PIN.

Per StopNCII’s FAQ, the tool is for anyone who is in the image, is over 18 in it, has access to the image, and where the image is intimate in nature. StopNCII lists its participating platforms on its own page — the list changes, so check it directly. Asked whether it prevents images from spreading across the whole internet, the FAQ answers no — only the participating platforms.

NCMEC’s Take It Down: for anyone whose images were taken as a minor

If the image or video was taken when you were under 18 — regardless of your age now — the tool is NCMEC’s Take It Down, not StopNCII. It works the same way: you select the file, Take It Down generates a hash, and “your image or video remains on your device and is not uploaded,” per NCMEC’s own description. Only the hash goes to participating platforms, which scan for matches. If you know where the content is posted, or want a company formally notified, NCMEC’s CyberTipline is the complementary path: analysts use the location you provide to press platforms for removal and follow up while monitoring compliance.

Sextortion involving minors is a distinct, urgent crime

If someone is threatening to release explicit images of a child or teen unless they pay money, send gift cards, or produce more images, that’s sextortion, and the FBI treats it as serious and growing — it has interviewed victims as young as 8, and says the only common trait among victims is internet access. The FTC’s own sextortion guidance is blunt about what to do next: ignore the demands — don’t pay, and don’t send more images — then report it, including to a local FBI field office, by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI, or at tips.fbi.gov. The FBI is direct with kids and teens in this situation: “You are not the one who is breaking the law.” Reports involving a minor can also go through NCMEC’s CyberTipline, which routes them to the right law enforcement agency.

That same FTC guidance applies to adults targeted this way: report to police and the FBI, ignore the demands, cut off contact, and tell someone you trust.

Getting support: CCRI’s helpline and Safety Center

The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative runs a free, 24/7 Image Abuse Helpline at 1-844-878-2274. Its Safety Center covers physical safety, documenting what happened, and — as above — evidence preservation before requesting removal. You don’t need a lawyer or a filed police report to call; the helpline offers support, technical advice, and referrals wherever you are in the process.

Civil claims exist too, separate from the federal takedown law

Beyond the criminal and platform-removal provisions, you may also sue the person who shared your images. A provision Congress added in the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022, 15 U.S.C. § 6851, lets you sue someone who shared your intimate image without consent, knowingly or with reckless disregard. Per the DOJ Office on Violence Against Women’s summary, a successful case can result in an injunction ordering the person to stop, plus — as alternatives, not both — either compensation for your actual financial losses or a liquidated payment of $150,000, plus attorney’s fees; courts can also let you proceed under a pseudonym. This claim is separate from, and doesn’t require, a criminal conviction.

States also have their own laws: CCRI’s tracking shows nonconsensual-distribution statutes now exist in all 50 states plus D.C. and two territories, though specifics (civil remedy, damages, statutes of limitation) vary by state, per CCRI’s state law map. A local victim advocate or attorney can tell you what’s available where you live.

If you suspect your accounts or phone are still exposed

If someone still has access to accounts the images might have come from, what is stalkerware covers the signs, and locking down your social accounts covers tightening privacy afterward. Do the safety-first check first if you think someone is actively watching your device — changing settings can alert them before you’re ready.

None of the tools above require you to have already reported to police, or to explain what happened to anyone but yourself. Preserve what you can, then start with whichever path — StopNCII, NCMEC, the platform, or CCRI’s helpline — fits your situation.