Take It Down: Remove Intimate Images Shared Without Consent

What this page is for

If an intimate image or video of you was shared on Vet Hub without your consent, you can ask us to remove it. This page explains how. It is our notice-and-removal process under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (Pub. L. 119-12, 47 U.S.C. 223a). There is no fee, and you do not need a Vet Hub account to use it.

If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, help is available 24/7. Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988 then Press 1, chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat, or text 838255.

What you can ask us to remove

You can ask us to remove an intimate visual depiction of an identifiable person that was published without that person's consent. Under federal law, that means an image or video that shows the uncovered genitals, pubic area, anus or post-pubescent female nipple of a person who can be identified, or certain displays or transfers of bodily sexual fluids. It includes realistic images made or altered with software that look like a real person.

Consent means a clear, voluntary agreement that was not forced, tricked or coerced. Agreeing to a photo being taken is not agreeing to it being shared.

Vet Hub does not let members upload images or video. Posts, replies and messages are plain text, so what we see in practice is a link to material hosted elsewhere, or a text description. We still accept your request, and we will remove what is on Vet Hub. We cannot remove material from other websites.

This process also covers direct messages.

Who can ask

• The person shown in the image or video, or
• A person who is authorized to act for them.

How to ask

Use the request form below. You do not need an account.

Your request must be in writing and include all four of these:

1. Your signature. Your physical or electronic signature (the signature of the person shown, or of the person authorized to act for them). In the form, type your full name and check the box that says this is your electronic signature.
2. Where it is. Enough information for us to find it. For a thread, give its web address. For a reply, give the thread's web address, the date and time, the display name of the author and the first few words. For a direct message, give the name of the person who sent it and the date.
3. A short statement of good faith. That you believe in good faith that the image or video is an intimate visual depiction of the person shown and that it was published without their consent. In the form, you check a box that says so.
4. How to reach you. An email address, and a telephone number if you want one. If you are acting for someone else, tell us who they are and how you are authorized to act for them. After you send the form we email you a link to confirm that the address is yours, and we send you updates about your request only after you confirm it.

Please do not send us the image or video. You do not need to, and we do not want a copy sent to us. Tell us where it is instead.

What we do, and how fast

• When we receive a valid request, we remove the material as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after we receive it. This includes weekends and holidays.
• We also make reasonable efforts to find and remove known identical copies on Vet Hub.
• After you send the form, the page shows a reference number and the time we received your request. Keep them.
• We tell you when it is done, at the email address in your request, once you have confirmed that address from the email we send you.
• If your request is missing something we need, we will ask you for it at the confirmed email address, and the 48 hours start when we have a valid request.
• We keep a dated record of every request and of what we did.

What we do with your information

We use what you send only to carry out your request and to keep our record of it. The record holds your name as you typed it, your email address, your phone number if you gave one, what you told us about where the material is, whether you are the person shown or someone acting for them (and the person you act for), the statements you ticked, the language you chose, the time we received the request, a one-way fingerprint (hash) of your IP address, and your account ID if you were signed in. We keep it as our record of what was asked and what we did; we run no automatic deletion schedule for it, and deleting an account unlinks the request from the account without removing it. We do not tell the member who posted the material who made the request. We do not share your request with sponsors, and we do not sell personal information.

If you are not satisfied

• If we do not act on a valid request, or if we have no process, you can complain to the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces the Act, at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.
• If the image was taken before you were 18, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children also runs a Take It Down service.
• For other legal notices, use the contact page and choose the topic Legal.

Related documents

Community Guidelines · Terms of Service · Privacy Policy · Copyright and DMCA