This legislation is one of the first serious attempts to modernize U.S. laws to protect children.
It specifically targets the distribution and threats of sharing non-consensual intimate images - including AI-generated content - as a federal crime, protecting survivors from further harm and ensuring that there are no loopholes for perpetrators based on location.
Over 300 million children under the age of 18 have been affected by online child and sexual exploitation and abuse in the last 12 months. As the home to many of the world’s leading tech companies, the United States holds a unique position of responsibility and influence in shaping online child protection standards.
With its vast technological infrastructure and global reach, the U.S. has both the tools and the moral imperative to lead efforts that ensure the internet is a safer place for children everywhere.
Meeting the moment in a post-AI internet
Currently, survivors face a patchwork of state laws protecting them from non-consensual intimate imagery, and tech companies and social media platforms are often slow to respond or unresponsive to removal requests, perpetuating the harm to survivors.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act criminalizes the act of intentionally publishing or threatening to publish non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated content, on online platforms. Platforms would be legally required to remove flagged content within 48 hours of notification. Quick takedowns help minimize the emotional, reputational, and even physical damage caused by harmful content. Violence, which might start in an online sphere, negatively impacts children in the physical world, such as bullying in school or acts of sexual violence physically perpetrated offline.
"The federal criminalization of threats to disseminate and the dissemination of NCII is crucial for holding these platforms accountable for the content published and disseminated on their sites."
This bill puts the onus on tech companies and puts them on notice that they must engage and work to take down content expeditiously. With the threat of legal consequences, platforms would have more incentive to actively prevent and respond to exploitation and abuse.
"Combating sexual abuse must be addressed on all fronts, particularly on social media and the Internet. The "Take It Down" Act will not only help survivors in their pursuit of justice but will also prevent further abuse."
Enforcing safety by design
Alarmingly, 1 in 8 children globally have been subjected to online solicitation, and 1 in 8 children have experienced taking, sharing, and or/exposure to sexual images and videos in the last 12 months. Online sexual violence can have serious emotional, health, and psychosocial impacts on children and youth, including into adulthood.
"I was a victim of technology-assisted child sexual abuse when I was 13 … It's been 21 years since my abuse, and I still live in fear of those images. The images will never stop. There is no end date to this abuse…"
The TAKE IT DOWN Act reinforces accountability for tech companies in two ways. Firstly, by mandating tech and social media platforms remove non-consensual intimate images. Secondly, it gives survivors, including minors, a legal pathway to request takedowns of their own images.
Importantly, the bill also clarifies that consent to create an intimate image does not mean consent to publish the image, recognizing that children may engage in natural, age-appropriate or consensual exchanges with peers and clarifies that consent is key.
Congressional barriers to passing the Take It Down Act
This bipartisan bill, passed by the Senate, and most recently cleared by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, now awaits a vote on the House floor before it can be sent to the President’s desk and signed into law. Over 185 organizations, including Together for Girls and the Brave Movement, have called on House leadership to quickly bring the legislation to the House floor for a vote.
U.S. leadership is critical not only to safeguard children domestically, but also to set a global benchmark for safety, accountability, and innovation in digital spaces.
It signals powerful political will –nationally and globally– regarding the adoption of survivor- and child-centered laws. This is a critical step forward in prioritizing the safety and well-being of children both in the digital world and offline.
We are all responsible for ending online sexual exploitation and abuse
In the US, advocates can support legislation like the TAKE IT DOWN Act by amplifying the voices of survivors, contacting policymakers, and raising awareness.
Globally, individuals can engage with trusted organizations working on child protection, push their governments to make reforms, and promote survivor-informed and evidence-based digital literacy and safety education in their communities. Tech professionals can help by building safety features into products and supporting ethical innovation. Parents, educators, and caregivers can stay informed, talk openly with children about online risks, and use available tools to protect their digital environments.
Ultimately, creating a safer internet is a shared responsibility—one that crosses borders, sectors, and generations.
Read the letter to the U.S. House of Representatives in support of the Take It Down Act that the Brave Movement has signed on to in partnership with dozens of other U.S. civil society organizations.
More like this
Building a Safer Digital Future for Kids: The Heat Initiative Story
For us, that meant putting pressure on companies that enable and profit off of child sexual abuse, starting with Apple. As we surveyed the online child safety space, we saw an opportunity to build a new brand of activism – one that borrowed from the playbook of other successful movements and leveraged a corporate campaign model to shift the ways Big Tech approaches child safety. Now, child users who face unsafe or unwanted sexual interactions in iMessage can get help more easily. Apple is facing a billion-dollar lawsuit that claims the company didn't do enough to stop child sexual abuse material from being stored on iCloud. The plaintiffs are survivors of child sexual abuse whose abuse was recorded and shared online, spreading across both the dark web and everyday platforms. In March of 2024, our team asked Marsh Law, a 17-year-old firm that focuses on representing victims of child sexual abuse, if it could bring a suit against Apple.
Apple: Take Action to Keep Kids Safe
Last week, The Heat Initiative supported survivors in filing a $1.2 billion class action lawsuit against Apple, to hold the company accountable for their role in the proliferation of CSAM on their platforms. In response to a recent article highlighting the story of one of the plaintiffs, the Heat Initiative said,
The Brave Movement welcomes Meta shareholder concerns about child safety on its social media platforms
The Brave Movement has welcomed a move by shareholders to raise concerns at Meta’s annual meeting about the social media giant’s approach to child safety.
A historic opportunity to protect children from digital harms
But behind the excitement, there’s a darker story that needs urgent attention: the safety of children and young people in the digital world. Now an advocate and survivor of technology-assisted child sexual abuse, Rhiannon-Faye is on a mission: to drive a coordinated, global response to online sexual violence. This illustrates a horrifying reality: online violence against children is a borderless crime that affects children of all genders and reaches every corner of the world. In just a few days, over 100 global leaders will gather in Bogotá, Colombia, for the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence against Children. For the first time, global leaders will be asked to commit to ending childhood sexual violence, a critical step in the fight to protect children in all spheres, including the digital realm. Our organisations— Safe Online , the Brave Movement and WeProtect Global Alliance —along with 15 other child rights groups , will host a satellite event called ‘ Safe Digital Futures for Children ’ on the margins of the conference. Governments must prioritise digital safety in their violence prevention strategies, recognizing that online violence is a global health crisis demanding a comprehensive response. Without a strong focus on digital safety, efforts to combat violence in the digital space will remain fragmented, leaving children vulnerable to preventable harm. Ministers have a unique opportunity to lead by example and set the standard for how the world should tackle digital violence against children.
Apple: stop selling unsafe iPhones to kids
As the world waited for Apple to launch its new iPhone on September 20th, 2024, the Heat Initiative organized a campaign to spotlight a critical issue at their flagship store in New York City: Apple products are not safe for children and adolescents.
A survivor's account of sexual abuse beyond the screen
In January, I got a call from the Red Dot Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization based in India.
Stay informed
Sign up to the Brave Movement monthly newsletter to stay up-to-date on our efforts and learn more about how YOU can take action.
Thank you for being brave!