The Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives advanced on Tuesday in the discussion of the bill known as the TAKE IT DOWN Act (S. 146), which seeks to facilitate the removal of certain types of problematic content online, in an attempt to address the proliferation of non-consensual intimate images. However, this initiative has raised concerns about its potential use as a tool for censorship by influential figures who may pressure platforms to remove content they deem uncomfortable or unfavorable.
Activists and experts have expressed concerns about the approach of the bill, arguing that while protecting victims of privacy invasions is a legitimate goal, good intentions do not ensure policy effectiveness. The new notification and removal system that is proposed could compromise freedom of expression, user privacy, and due process, without significantly addressing the problems it seeks to solve. The “takedown” provisions would extend to a much broader range of content that could even include intimate or sexual images in general, surpassing the more restricted definitions present in other legislations.
Furthermore, the bill lacks adequate protections against frivolous or malicious removal requests, increasing the risk of censoring legal content, including satire, journalism, and political speech. The short 48-hour deadline for carrying out these removals could force online service providers, especially smaller platforms, to make hasty decisions to avoid legal repercussions, making proper content verification difficult. Many of these platforms could resort to automatic filters, which have shown a tendency to remove legitimate content.
On the other hand, companies offering end-to-end encrypted messaging would face the dilemma of receiving notifications that they could not comply with, as they do not have access to message content. This situation could lead some platforms to abandon encryption, turning private conversations into surveillance spaces. Despite proposed amendments by some committee members to address these issues, all were rejected by its leadership.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act is expected to be voted on in the coming weeks and, if approved, would be sent to President Trump’s desk, who has expressed support for the project and urged Congress to quickly approve it. Trump has indicated that he could use this bill as a tool to censor criticism of his administration, adding an additional level of concern to the debate.
Critics of the bill warn of the acceleration of the approval of measures that could have profound implications for freedom of expression in the digital environment. It is argued that the TAKE IT DOWN Act represents an inappropriate strategy to help those affected by the spread of their intimate images without consent, suggesting that the solution should be to strengthen and enforce existing legislation that protects victims of online harassment.
Referrer: MiMub in Spanish
