Getting Intimate Images Taken Down: Removal Tools and the Laws Behind Them

There are three established routes for getting an intimate image taken down: a removal request made directly to the platform, which federal law now backs with a 48-hour deadline; StopNCII.org, a free tool for adults; and Take It Down, a free service for images taken before the person turned 18.^[4][3][2] A person can use more than one route, and can also report to the police.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children tells young people threatened over an image that the blackmailer is to blame, not them.^[9] Michigan's VOICES4 hotline takes calls and texts at 855-864-2374, and the National Sexual Assault Hotline is 800.656.HOPE (4673); both are free and confidential.^[10][11][12]

This page covers who each tool is for, what a person does to use it, and the Michigan and federal laws behind them. It is not about how platforms or investigators detect images, and it does not describe those methods.

Which route fits which situation?

Situation	Route	Who runs it
The image or video was taken when you were under 18	Take It Down[2]	National Center for Missing & Exploited Children[2]
You were 18 or older when the image was taken and are over 18 now	StopNCII.org[3]	The Revenge Porn Helpline, part of the charity SWGfL[3]
The image was published without your consent on a "covered platform" as the federal act defines it	A removal request to that platform under the federal 48-hour rule[4][13]	The platform; enforced by the Federal Trade Commission[4]
A child is being exploited or threatened online	The CyberTipline, and the police[8]	National Center for Missing & Exploited Children[8]

Take It Down: images taken before age 18

Take It Down is a free service that can help remove or stop the online sharing of nude, partially nude or sexually explicit images or videos taken of a person when the person was under 18.^[1] The site was re-opened for this page on 4 October 2026, and it states the following about its scope:^[2]

• Who it is for. People who have images or videos of themselves, taken when they were under 18, that they believe have been or will be shared online. A person who is unsure whether the image has been shared can still use it.^[2]
• Anonymity. A person can remain anonymous while using the service and does not have to send the images or videos to anyone.^[1]
• The image stays with you. The site says the image or video remains on the user's device and is not uploaded.^[2]
• Use only what is already on your device. The site tells users not to send, share or download any image or video in order to submit it; submissions are to be made only for images or videos already on the device.^[2]
• Where it works. The service works on public or unencrypted online platforms that have agreed to participate.^[1]
• Its limits. The site says online platforms may have limited capabilities to remove content that was already posted in the past, and that for additional help a person can also report the image or video to the CyberTipline.^[2]

The service has the same name as the federal statute discussed below, but they are different things: one is a service provided by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the other is an act of Congress.^[2][14]

StopNCII.org: adults

StopNCII.org describes itself as a free tool designed to support victims of non-consensual intimate image abuse.^[3] It is operated by the Revenge Porn Helpline, which is part of SWGfL, a not-for-profit charity; it is not a government service.^[3] Its home page, re-opened on 4 October 2026, says a person can use it if all of these apply:^[3]

• you are the person in the image;
• you were 18 or older at the time the image was taken;
• you are currently over 18 years old;
• you are still in possession of the image or video; and
• you are nude, semi-nude or engaging in a sexual act in it.

The tool says it creates a digital fingerprint of the selected image on the user's own device, that the fingerprint is the only file shared, and that it does not download the images from the device.^[3] It works with the companies that participate in it.^[15] Take It Down's own site refers people whose image was taken at 18 or older to StopNCII.org.^[2]

Removal requests to a platform: the federal 48-hour rule

The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, Public Law 119-12, was approved May 19, 2025.^[14] Section 3 put two duties on each "covered platform."

1. Have a process. Not later than 1 year after enactment, a covered platform had to establish a process by which an identifiable individual, or an authorized person acting on the individual's behalf, can notify the platform of an intimate visual depiction published without the individual's consent and request its removal.^[4] One year after May 19, 2025 is May 19, 2026, so as of October 2026 that date has passed.^[16]
2. Remove within 48 hours. On receiving a valid removal request, the platform must, as soon as possible but not later than 48 hours after receiving it, remove the depiction and make reasonable efforts to identify and remove any known identical copies.^[4]

What a valid request contains

The act says a notification and removal request must include, in writing:^[17]

• a physical or electronic signature of the identifiable individual, or of an authorized person acting on the individual's behalf;^[17]
• an identification of the intimate visual depiction and information reasonably sufficient for the platform to locate it;^[17]
• a brief statement that the individual has a good faith belief that the depiction is not consensual, including any relevant information for the platform to determine that it was published without consent; and^[17]
• information sufficient to enable the platform to contact the individual or the authorized person.^[17]

A covered platform must provide a clear and conspicuous notice of its process that is easy to read, in plain language, and describes how to submit a notification and request for removal.^[17] In practical terms, that notice is where to look on a given site for its removal form.

Which sites are "covered platforms"?

The act defines a covered platform as a website, online service, online application or mobile application that serves the public and either primarily provides a forum for user-generated content, such as messages, videos, images, games and audio files, or regularly publishes, curates, hosts or makes available nonconsensual intimate visual depictions as part of its business.^[13] The definition excludes providers of broadband internet access service, electronic mail, and services that consist primarily of content preselected by the provider where any chat or comment function is incidental to that content.^[13] The act names no companies.^[13]

Enforcement

A failure to reasonably comply with the notice and takedown obligations is treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.^[4] A platform is not liable for a claim based on its good faith removal of material claimed to be a nonconsensual intimate visual depiction, whether or not the depiction is ultimately determined to be unlawful.^[18] This page does not cover how the Commission has enforced the section.

Reporting: the CyberTipline and the police

The CyberTipline is the nation's centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children, and its 24-hour hotline is 1-800-843-5678.^[8] The public can report suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, child sexual abuse material and other listed categories.^[8] Staff of the national center review each tip and work to make it available to the appropriate law enforcement agency for possible investigation.^[8]

For a young person being threatened over an image, the national center's guidance is to get help before deciding whether to pay or otherwise comply, because cooperating or paying rarely stops the blackmail; to report the account through the platform's safety feature; and to block the person but not delete the profile or messages.^[9]

An adult can also report to a local police department. Michigan's statute on disseminating an adult's intimate image does not apply to a person disseminating the material in the reporting of a crime.^[19] In Michigan schools, OK2SAY takes confidential tips about potential harm directed at students 24 hours a day at 855-565-2729 or by text to 652729.^[20] Reporting options generally are in Options for reporting.

The Michigan laws behind removal

Sharing an adult's intimate image: MCL 750.145e

A person may not intentionally, and with the intent to threaten, coerce or intimidate, disseminate sexually explicit visual material of another person if all of the following apply: the other person is not less than 18 years of age; the other person is identifiable from the material itself or from information displayed with it; the material was obtained under circumstances in which a reasonable person would know or understand it was to remain private; and the person knows or reasonably should know the other person did not consent to the dissemination.^[5] "Disseminate" means post, distribute or publish on a computer device, computer network, website, or other electronic device or medium of communication.^[21]

A first violation is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $500, or both; a second or subsequent violation is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.^[22] The full statute is explained in Nonconsensual intimate images.

Threats to share: sexual extortion

MCL 750.213b took effect April 2, 2025. Subject to the two exceptions below, an individual who intentionally and maliciously threatens to release, exhibit, create or distribute sexually explicit visual material of another individual in order to compel or attempt to compel another individual to do or refrain from doing any act against that individual's will, with the intent to obtain sexually explicit visual material or anything else of value, is guilty of a felony.^[6] A first offense is punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $5,000, or both; the maximums rise to 10 years and $10,000 for a second offense and 20 years and $20,000 for a third or subsequent offense.^[23] If the individual convicted is less than 18 years of age, the offense is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year.^[24] The maximum is 25 years if the victim is less than 18 years of age or a vulnerable adult and the person who committed the violation is more than 18 years of age, or if the victim suffers serious physical harm, serious mental harm or death as a result.^[25] See Michigan's sextortion law.

Intimate deep fakes

The Protection from Intimate Deep Fakes Act took effect August 26, 2025.^[26] An individual may not intentionally create or disseminate a deep fake if the individual knew or reasonably should have known that doing so would cause physical, emotional, reputational or economic harm to an individual falsely depicted, the deep fake realistically depicts the depicted individual's intimate parts or the depicted individual engaging in a sexual act, and the depicted individual is identifiable from the deep fake itself or from personal information displayed with it.^[7][27] The offense is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $3,000, or both, and a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 3 years or a fine of not more than $5,000, or both, if one or more listed factors apply, such as posting the deep fake on a website.^[28][29]

The same act is directly relevant to removal because it lets the depicted individual go to civil court. A depicted individual may bring a civil action, and the court may enter a temporary restraining order or a permanent injunction to prevent further harm, with a civil fine of not more than $1,000 per day for violating that order.^[30][31] See Michigan's intimate deep fake law.

Images of people under 18

MCL 750.145e applies only where the person depicted is not less than 18 years of age.^[32] Michigan's child sexually abusive material statute, MCL 750.145c, defines a "child" as a person less than 18 years of age.^[33] As read for this library, the text of that statute contains no exception for a minor who creates, sends or possesses an image of himself or herself or of another minor.^[34] Take It Down's site tells users not to send, share or download an image in order to submit it, and says the image stays on the user's own device.^[2] The statute is covered in Child sexually abusive material laws and, for young people, in Teen sexting laws.

The federal criminal provisions

Besides the removal process, the TAKE IT DOWN Act added federal offenses to 47 USC 223(h).^[14]

• Publishing an adult's intimate image. It is unlawful, in interstate or foreign commerce, to use an interactive computer service to knowingly publish an intimate visual depiction of an identifiable adult if it was obtained or created under circumstances in which the person knew or reasonably should have known the individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy, what is depicted was not voluntarily exposed in a public or commercial setting, what is depicted is not a matter of public concern, and publication is intended to cause harm or causes harm, including psychological, financial or reputational harm.^[14]
• Digital forgeries. The act also covers knowingly publishing a "digital forgery," an intimate visual depiction created through software, machine learning, artificial intelligence or other technological means that a reasonable person would find indistinguishable from an authentic depiction.^[35] For an adult, the offense requires that the forgery was published without the person's consent, that what is depicted was not voluntarily exposed in a public or commercial setting and is not a matter of public concern, and that publication is intended to cause harm or causes harm.^[36]
• Images of minors. It is unlawful to use an interactive computer service to knowingly publish an intimate visual depiction of an identifiable minor with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass or degrade the minor, or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.^[36]
• Maximums. A publication offense involving an adult is punishable by a fine, imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or both; one involving a minor by a fine, imprisonment for not more than 3 years, or both.^[35]
• Threats. Intentionally threatening to publish an authentic intimate visual depiction for the purpose of intimidation, coercion, extortion or to create mental distress is punished as the publication offense is.^[37] A threat to publish a digital forgery for those purposes is punishable by a fine, imprisonment for not more than 18 months, or both, where the person depicted is an adult, and not more than 30 months where the person depicted is a minor.^[37]
• Consent. The fact that a person consented to the creation of an image, or shared it with another individual, does not establish consent to its publication.^[38]

The wider federal picture is in Federal sex crimes: an overview.

Keeping a record, and other court options

Some practical points that are not legal rules: note the web address where the image appears, the date you found it, and the date and method of each removal request, and keep any confirmation a platform sends. Those notes help when following up with a platform or speaking with the police.

A person who has been subjected to, threatened with, or placed in reasonable apprehension of sexual assault by another person can petition for a personal protection order whether or not that person has been charged or convicted.^[39] Whether a particular image-based situation fits that statute depends on the facts; the order is explained in Sexual assault PPOs. Images captured secretly raise separate offenses covered in Voyeurism and hidden camera laws.

What people get wrong

• "Take It Down is a government takedown order." Take It Down is a free service provided by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act is a separate statute that puts the 48-hour duty on platforms.^[2][4]
• "I have to upload the image to get it removed." Both tools say the image stays on the user's device.^[2][3]
• "These tools remove an image from everywhere." Take It Down works on public or unencrypted platforms that have agreed to participate and says platforms may have limited ability to remove content already posted; StopNCII.org works with its participating companies.^[1][2][15]
• "StopNCII is for anyone." It is for people who were 18 or older when the image was taken and are over 18 now.^[3]
• "If I agreed to the photo, I agreed to it being posted." Under the federal act, consent to the creation of an image does not establish consent to its publication.^[38]
• "The 48-hour rule applies to every website." It applies to "covered platforms" as the act defines them, and the definition has exclusions, including electronic mail.^[13]