The TAKE IT DOWN Act: A Threat to Free Speech?

The Senate is debating the TAKE IT DOWN Act, aiming to expedite the removal of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII). However, the bill's mandated 48-hour notice-and-takedown system lacks safeguards, potentially leading to censorship of lawful speech and threatening user privacy and due process. The bill's broad definitions and tight deadlines could force online services to rely on automated filters, wrongly flagging legitimate content. Furthermore, the Act threatens encrypted services, potentially leading to the abandonment of privacy protections. Existing laws already provide sufficient tools to address NCII; Congress should focus on enforcing and improving these, rather than implementing a broad takedown regime prone to abuse.