WASHINGTON—The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued warning letters to 12 companies that own and operate so-called "nudify" artificial intelligence platforms. FTC chair Andrew N. Ferguson confirmed on Wednesday that the letters were sent, though without naming the recipients, as a wider Take It Down Act compliance effort.
“Today we’re demonstrating just how serious we are about protecting the public, especially children, from abusive online conduct,” Ferguson said in a press statement. “Platforms no longer have any excuses—they must comply with their obligations under the Take It Down Act or face the consequences.”
As AVN reported, the enforcement of the Take It Down Act was initiated on May 19. The act, passed and signed into law nearly one year ago, creates a federal criminal prohibition on the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including non-consensual deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence models.
The sweeping law establishes a strict notice-and-removal process that dictates platforms must take down the offending content within 48 hours of the initial notice. Christopher G. Mufarrige, the director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, signed the 12 letters issued to the targeted companies.
"The FTC’s May 20 warning letters show that the agency is not waiting for a long ramp-up period," cautioned Corey Silverstein, the managing attorney of Silverstein Legal, in a legal alert sent to AVN. "The compliance deadline has passed, and the FTC has begun identifying businesses that appear to lack the required removal process."
Silverstein added, "Businesses should not wait until they receive a warning letter. The FTC has expressly stated that violations may be treated as violations of an FTC rule and may result in civil penalties."
Meanwhile, the Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant issued an enforcement action against an unnamed "nudify" service in definace of the country's industry codes. Under the policies of the office, eSafety issued a Direction to Comply order to the service, giving it 14 days to comply or face millions in compliance penalties.
“The popularity of this ‘nudify’ platform and the ease of which children can access it is deeply concerning," Grant said. "These are services that enable the creation of sexually explicit content involving real people and are extremely caustic to adults (mostly women) but also pose an unacceptable risk to children."
On this move, Silverstein added, "The action reinforces a broader regulatory trend: AI services that generate or enable sexualized deepfake content are being treated as high-risk services requiring proactive safety controls, age-appropriate access restrictions, and documented compliance processes."
