FTC Sends Warning Letters Over Take It Down Act Compliance
The Federal Trade Commission has begun enforcing the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act and has already sent warning letters to companies that the FTC believes may be out of compliance. The first wave of letters targeted websites offering so-called “nudify” tools, which can be used to create nonconsensual, sexualized images from clothed images. The FTC’s action is an important signal for platforms that host, publish, transmit, curate, or otherwise make available user-generated content, intimate content, AI-generated content, digitally altered images, messaging content, livestreams, comments, or other media. Covered platforms are now expected to have a clear process for receiving and acting on takedown requests involving nonconsensual intimate images. What the FTC Warning Letter Says The FTC’s warning-letter template provides a clearer picture of how the agency is framing TAKE IT DOWN Act enforcement. First, the FTC states that it enforces Section 3 of the TAKE IT DOWN Act and treats violations of TIDA as violations of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice under Section 18 of the FTC Act. That matters because it gives the FTC a civil-penalty hook for covered-platform violations. Second, the letter quotes the statutory definition of a “covered platform.” A covered platform…
