WASHINGTON, DC (January 17, 2025) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) commends the reintroduction of the TAKE IT DOWN Act in the U.S. Senate by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), emphasizing the urgent need for this legislation to provide necessary solutions for those impacted by the creation of AI-generated sexually explicit material (or deepfake pornography).
“Nobody should endure sexual exploitation through the creation of deepfake pornography. The TAKE IT DOWN Act mercilessly confronts this rampant criminality by requiring tech platforms to remove AI-generated Image-Based Sexual Abuse within 48 hours of receiving a removal request. Right now, it is nearly impossible for victims of image-based sexual abuse to have sexually abusive content removed from websites. IBSA is a horrific assault on one’s privacy and dignity; we must act quickly to combat this abhorrent abuse,” said Marcel van der Watt, President, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“Artificial intelligence has been used as a weapon against both children and adults, and increasingly so. We urgently call on the U.S. Senate to pass the TAKE IT DOWN Act – a solution like this for our children cannot wait,” Van der Watt added.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act was passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in the last legislative session.
A 2024 Thorn report revealed that “roughly 1 in 10 minors report that they know of cases where their friends and classmates have created synthetic non-consensual intimate images (or ‘deepfake nudes’) of other kids using generative AI tools.” For more information about Image-Based Sexual Abuse, see here. For video resources on the TAKE IT DOWN Act, see here and here.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.