FTC orders Amazon, Apple and Alphabet to comply with takedown law

The Federal Trade Commission sent compliance letters to Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Meta and Microsoft reminding the companies of removal requirements under the Take It Down Act, which took effect May 19, 2025. The letters, signed by FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, instruct platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate images within 48 hours of receiving a valid takedown request and note possible penalties for noncompliance.

Under the Take It Down Act, a person identified in a nonconsensual intimate image may submit a valid takedown request to a hosting service. After receiving the request, the platform has 48 hours to remove the content. Fines for missed deadlines can reach $43,792 per violation and may accumulate for repeated or multiple missed takedown deadlines.

The FTC characterized the letters as reminders of legal duties rather than initial enforcement actions, while making clear that per-violation fines remain available under the statute. The agency’s outreach covered the largest consumer technology platforms operating in the United States.

Separately, the FTC sent a second set of notices to the same companies about consumer data security practices and the risk of using foreign content rules for U.S. users. That guidance referenced the European Union’s Digital Services Act and warned against applying EU-style content restrictions to American users instead of maintaining separate compliance systems. The agency set Aug. 22, 2025 as a date to watch for those warnings becoming more actionable.

The Take It Down Act applies to any service that hosts user-generated content, including social networks, cloud storage services and messaging apps. The statute also criminalizes distribution of nonconsensual intimate images, exposing distributors to potential criminal liability and creating legal risk for platforms that fail to meet removal obligations.

The FTC’s letters did not mention cryptocurrency firms. For the largest technology companies, potential civil fines under the statute represent a small share of total revenue, while the agency and privacy experts note that smaller platforms and startups may face greater compliance burdens if they lack substantial legal and content-moderation teams.

Enforcement will depend on how quickly companies update takedown processes and whether the FTC pursues fines for missed deadlines. The letters state the agency is monitoring compliance and urge platforms to have systems in place to accept valid takedown requests and remove flagged content within the 48-hour window.