United StatesTAKE IT DOWN Act, section 2: criminal prohibition on publishing intimate digital forgeries
47 U.S.C. 223(h), as added by Pub. L. 119-12, sec. 2
In force since .
An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
- Audit expectation
- none
- Setting the rule reaches
- General
As of .
What it requires
- Do not use an interactive computer service to knowingly publish a digital forgery, an intimate depiction of an identifiable individual created with software, machine learning, artificial intelligence or other technological means that is indistinguishable from an authentic depiction, without the depicted individual's consent.
- Do not publish a digital forgery of an identifiable minor with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass or degrade the minor, or to arouse or gratify anyone's sexual desire.
- Do not threaten to publish a digital forgery to intimidate, coerce, extort or cause mental distress.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Publishing a digital forgery of an identifiable adult in violation of 47 U.S.C. 223(h)(3)(A) carries a fine, imprisonment of not more than 2 years, or both under 223(h)(4)(A); a forgery of a minor carries up to 3 years under 223(h)(4)(B); a threat to publish a forgery of an adult carries up to 18 months, and of a minor up to 30 months, under 223(h)(6)(B).
What it makes you log
Logging duty
Subsection (h) is a criminal prohibition on publication and states no duty to create, keep, or produce a log or record. The covered-platform notice and removal process is a separate duty in section 3 of the same Act, outside this row's citation.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
It is unlawful for any person, in interstate or foreign commerce, to use an interactive computer service to knowingly publish a digital forgery of an identifiable individual who is not a minor, where the forgery is published without the individual's consent, what is depicted was not voluntarily exposed in a public or commercial setting and is not a matter of public concern, and the publication is intended to cause harm or causes harm.
A digital forgery is an intimate visual depiction of an identifiable individual created through the use of software, machine learning, artificial intelligence, or any other computer-generated or technological means that a reasonable person would find indistinguishable from an authentic visual depiction of the individual.
The prohibition also covers publishing a digital forgery 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. A violation involving an adult is punishable by a fine, imprisonment of not more than 2 years, or both. A violation involving a minor is punishable by a fine, imprisonment of not more than 3 years, or both.
A person who intentionally threatens to publish a digital forgery of an adult for the purpose of intimidation, coercion, extortion, or to create mental distress is punishable by a fine, imprisonment of not more than 18 months, or both.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app generates images with AI, generates video with AI or publishes adult content.