ChildFund Celebrates Legislative Milestone in Children’s Online Safety in Signing of TAKE IT DOWN Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Cheri Dahl
CDahl@ChildFund.org
804.937.6239

ChildFund Celebrates Legislative Milestone in Children’s Online Safety
in Signing of TAKE IT DOWN Act

The bill requires platforms to remove real or deepfake nonconsensual sexual imagery and
is due to be signed into law today.

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 19, 2025 – Today ChildFund celebrates the passage of historic legislation that culminates years of work to make the internet a safer place for children everywhere. The Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks (TAKE IT DOWN) Act (S.146) will protect children who are victimized by the online publication of real or deepfake nonconsensual sexual imagery, marking a major win for children’s online safety advocates like ChildFund.

"This bill is a milestone that ChildFund has been working toward for years, and we are thrilled that it will be signed into law," says ChildFund's Erin Kennedy, Vice President for External Affairs and Partnerships. "Criminalizing the use of nonconsensual sexual imagery and AI deepfakes is a positive step toward greater tech accountability and justice for survivors of online sexual abuse. The TAKE IT DOWN Act should be celebrated as a win for survivors, parents of victims and all who are working to make the internet safer for children."

The bill requires social media platforms to remove illegal content, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM), within 48 hours of notification from the victim, and also criminalizes the publication of or threat to publish authentic or deepfake child-exploitative imagery that does not constitute CSAM. The proactive measures outlined in the legislation are an essential step in addressing the range of online sexual exploitation and abuse of children.

ChildFund has been instrumental in advancing a nationwide grassroots movement to promote online safety for children. The organization’s multi-award-winning #TakeItDown campaign raised awareness through the short film “Monster” and galvaniz the public to contact their representatives in Congress to move online safety legislation forward. ChildFund also convened and leads the End Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children (End OSEAC) Coalition, a group of like-minded organizations advancing online safety legislation and giving a platform to survivors and parents of children who have lost their lives to online exploitation and abuse. ChildFund, the Coalition and the Coalition’s Survivor’s Council are leaders in the online safety advocacy space and will continue advocating for legislation to protect children and young people from online sexual exploitation and abuse.

About ChildFund
ChildFund works throughout Asia, Africa and the Americas, including the United States, to connect children with what they need to grow up healthy, educated, skilled and safe — at home, in school, in community, online. ChildFund leads the End OSEAC Coalition, a group of 30 civil society organizations advocating for policies to protect children online. Find out more at www.ChildFund.org