On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that it had taken control of two websites—CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com—allegedly responsible for hosting explicit, AI-generated nude images and videos of women without their consent. This marks what is believed to be the first publicized domain seizure under the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
The Department of Justice stated that these platforms distributed sexually explicit digital content, commonly referred to as deepfakes, featuring prominent figures such as politicians, celebrities, athletes, musicians, and even members of royalty from various nations.
“Based on the sworn affidavit provided to justify the seizure warrants, these fabricated images were designed to look like intimate photos of well-known women, including political leaders, first ladies from different countries, royals, journalists, TV hosts, athletes, entertainers, and other public personalities,” the DOJ announcement noted.
A deepfake refers to media that is created or altered using artificial intelligence to portray someone saying or doing things they never actually did. This technology leverages existing photos, videos, or audio clips to generate realistic but fake content. It is frequently exploited for nonconsensual nude material, identity theft scams, phishing attempts, and crypto-related fraud.
The CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com domains were confiscated on Thursday by the Department of Justice and Homeland Security Investigations. This action followed a federal judge’s finding of probable cause that the sites were being operated in violation of the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
Both domains now feature a notice explaining they were taken offline under a seizure warrant as part of a joint operation involving the United States, Italy, and France.
“THIS DOMAIN HAS BEEN SEIZED by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Jersey Field Office pursuant to a seizure warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey as part of coordinated law enforcement actions by HSI, French National Police, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office, Italy’s Polizia di Stato – Postal and Cybersecurity Police, United States Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for violations of 47 U.S.C. § 223,” reads the seizure banner on the websites.
“The TAKE IT DOWN ACT (47 U.S.C. § 223) prohibits the nonconsensual publication of intimate imagery and digital forgeries (i.e., deepfakes). Violators are subject to fines, imprisonment or both.”
Source: BleepingComputer
The investigation was initiated after Italy’s Postal and Cybersecurity Police notified U.S. authorities about the existence of these websites.
Reports from Italian media indicate that investigators launched their inquiry in October 2025 after receiving complaints about AI-generated sexually explicit images depicting women from the fields of politics, sports, entertainment, and other public-facing roles.
Italian officials subsequently secured a court order to block access to the sites within Italy while their investigation continued. The DOJ has confirmed that evidence collected by U.S. law enforcement was later shared with French counterparts.
French prosecutors and investigators then carried out their own investigation, which resulted in the arrest of a suspect in Nice, France, on June 10. Authorities also seized cryptocurrency believed to be linked to the operation.
The bipartisan TAKE IT DOWN Act was signed into law in May 2025 with the goal of addressing the proliferation of nonconsensual imagery, including AI-generated deepfake pornography. The legislation was a key initiative of First Lady Melania Trump’s “Be Best” campaign.
Under this law, it is now a federal offense to publish sexually explicit altered images of identifiable individuals without their permission. Additionally, the law mandates that online platforms must remove reported intimate images and deepfakes within 48 hours of receiving a valid request from the victim.
“These domain seizures represent a major step forward in combating deepfake pornography,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated in Friday’s announcement.
“The TAKE IT DOWN Act, championed by First Lady Melania Trump, provides us with the necessary tools to fight the abuse and exploitation of women and children through these fabricated images.”
The law was previously applied in the case of an Ohio man who admitted guilt to charges involving the creation of AI-generated sexually explicit images.
Nevertheless, the seizure of CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com appears to be the first publicly disclosed instance of the law being used to target websites allegedly involved in distributing deepfake pornography.
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