The TAKE IT DOWN Act in Force: Compliance for Any Business Hosting User Content

Emily S. Tabatabai, Partner | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Emily S. Tabatabai is a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and a founding member of the firm’s global Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation Group. She counsels companies in social media, gaming, mobile apps, adtech and ecommerce on privacy, consumer protection and online safety, and she represents clients in regulatory investigations before the FTC, State Attorneys General and Congressional committees. She led the development of Orrick’s Online Safety Law Center & U.S. Law Tracker. She is especially well suited to this program: she has represented clients through FTC investigations and enforcement actions under Section 5 of the FTC Act, advises social media platforms on their online safety obligations, and tracks State AG enforcement through the law tracker she built, bringing the perspective of counsel who regularly sits across the table from the FTC.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Tabatabai received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2006 and her B.B.A. from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School in 2001. She is admitted in the District of Columbia and Texas and holds the Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) credential.

• Recognition & Leadership

Chambers USA has ranked Ms. Tabatabai nationwide in Privacy & Data Security (Band 1, 2019–2021; Band 2, 2022–2023), and The Legal 500 has ranked her Tier 1 in Cyber Law, including Data Protection and Privacy (2019–2023). She has served on the Law360 Privacy Editorial Advisory Board and the IAPP Publications Advisory Board.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Tabatabai is a member of the Privacy, Data Security and E-Commerce Committee of the Texas Bar’s Business Law Section and speaks frequently on children’s privacy and online safety laws for kids and teens, including a panel on navigating FTC security investigations. Her recent Orrick insights include “Nonconsensual Intimate Images Online: Take It Down Act Enforcement In Full Swing” (June 2026).

• Experience

Ms. Tabatabai has represented a global gaming platform provider in an FTC investigation and enforcement action involving COPPA and Section 5 of the FTC Act, an EdTech platform provider in an FTC enforcement action over COPPA compliance, and a global IoT device maker in investigations by the FTC and multiple State Attorneys General into alleged unfair and deceptive practices. She also counsels online services and social media platforms on age verification, parental consent and age-appropriate design obligations for teen and child users.

Meg Hennessey, Of Counsel | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Meg Hennessey is Of Counsel at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in San Francisco and Orange County, where she advises online service providers, including social media platforms, on online safety and consumer protection law. She designs and implements digital trust and safety compliance programs, including programs for laws on detecting, reporting and removing non-consensual intimate images and online child sexual exploitation and abuse material, drawing on nearly 15 years of defending companies in high-stakes criminal, civil and regulatory investigations. She is especially well suited to this program: she designs compliance programs for laws requiring the removal of non-consensual intimate images, builds content moderation and transparency reporting policies, and has guided a client through a multi-year online trust and safety monitorship, bringing the perspective of counsel who builds removal systems from the inside.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Hennessey earned her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law and her B.S. in Political Science from Santa Clara University. She is admitted in California and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

• Recognition & Leadership

Ms. Hennessey co-leads Orrick’s Orange County Women’s Inclusion Network. She has led multidisciplinary teams of lawyers and consultants in matters involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, congressional investigations, and an inquiry opened by the UK’s Ofcom.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Hennessey has worked on both sides of corporate monitorships, serving on two DOJ and SEC-appointed FCPA Monitor teams and representing two multinational companies under independent Compliance Monitors. She maintains an active pro bono practice, and her recent Orrick insights include “Nonconsensual Intimate Images Online: Take It Down Act Enforcement In Full Swing” (June 2026).

• Experience

Ms. Hennessey has advised dozens of AI, social media and big tech providers on youth online safety laws and built internal compliance playbooks; conducted trust and safety risk assessments and drafted policies on identity verification, content moderation, transparency reporting and reporting to law enforcement; and responded for a leading creator platform to UK Parliament and Ofcom inquiries under the UK Online Safety Act. She has also represented peer-to-peer platforms responding to FTC and state attorney general Civil Investigative Demands and subpoenas.

SESSION 1 – Building a Notice-and-Removal System for Websites and Apps That Host User Content | Meg Hennessey | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

This session provides attorneys with a practical, statute-grounded framework for building a TAKE IT DOWN Act (TIDA) compliant notice-and-removal system for any platform that hosts user-generated content. Attendees will learn who qualifies as a covered platform, what a valid removal request must contain, how the 48-hour removal deadline and duplicate-detection obligations work, and how the asymmetric safe harbor shapes compliance strategy. By the end of the session, attorneys will be able to audit an existing content moderation infrastructure, identify gaps, and advise clients on the ten core elements of a defensible TIDA compliance program before the May 19, 2026 effective date.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – Responding to FTC TAKE IT DOWN Act Enforcement | Emily S. Tabatabai | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

This session examines how the FTC enforces Section 3 of the TAKE IT DOWN Act, focusing on the agency’s enforcement architecture, penalty exposure, and the practical steps platforms and their counsel must take when responding to FTC scrutiny. Attorneys will learn how the FTC’s UDAP classification creates civil penalty liability of up to $53,088 per violation, what the agency’s first warning letters signal about investigative priorities, and how to prepare for Civil Investigative Demands and potential consent decrees. Attendees will leave with a working framework for counseling clients through FTC investigations, assessing penalty exposure, and navigating the unresolved legal questions—including ‘reasonable efforts’ ambiguity, per-violation counting methodology, and the Section 230 intersection—that will define the enforcement landscape through first contested actions.