The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the seizure of CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com, websites that circulated AI-generated deepfake images portraying nonconsensual nude depictions of women, including public figures. These sites are believed to have hosted digitally manipulated explicit content targeting politicians, celebrities, athletes, and other high-profile individuals across multiple countries. This action represents a significant application of the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a law prohibiting the publication of intimate digital forgeries without consent.
The domains were taken offline following a federal judge’s determination of probable cause, enabling Homeland Security Investigations and the DOJ to execute seizure warrants. The seizure notice on both sites details a coordinated operation involving the U.S., Italy, and France, reflecting an international effort to combat the misuse of AI in generating false and damaging sexual imagery. The TAKE IT DOWN Act establishes penalties including fines and imprisonment for offenses related to nonconsensual intimate image publication and deepfakes.
A deepfake is synthetic media created or altered through artificial intelligence to depict individuals saying or doing things they never actually did. While the technology has various applications, it has increasingly been exploited for harmful purposes—such as creating fake nude images without consent, impersonation fraud, phishing, and cryptocurrency scams. The DOJ’s investigation into these two sites originated after Italian Postal and Cybersecurity Police alerted U.S. authorities, following reports of AI-generated sexual content targeting women in politics, sports, entertainment, and other public roles.
Italian investigators initially obtained a court order to block the websites within Italy while the inquiry continued. Evidence collected by U.S. law enforcement was then shared with French officials to coordinate broader legal responses. This international cooperation underscores the cross-border challenges posed by AI-generated disinformation and digital abuse.
The DOJ’s seizure banner emphasizes the legal basis under 47 U.S.C. § 223, confirming that violations related to nonconsensual intimate image publication and digital forgeries are subject to prosecution. The TAKE IT DOWN Act is one of the first legislative tools explicitly targeting the malicious use of AI in creating and distributing deepfake pornography, aiming to protect victims from reputational and emotional harm.