The DOJ seized CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com Thursday, the first publicly announced domain takedown under the TAKE IT DOWN Act: the bipartisan federal law signed in May 2025 that criminalizes nonconsensual deepfake pornography.
The sites hosted AI-generated nude images of famous women from multiple countries: politicians, first ladies, royalty, journalists, television presenters, athletes, and entertainers. Italy’s Postal and Cybersecurity Police alerted US authorities after complaints surfaced in October 2025; Italian courts blocked access within Italy while the investigation continued.
Evidence shared with French authorities led to the arrest of a suspect in Nice on June 10, along with cryptocurrency allegedly connected to the operation. The DOJ’s seizure involved Homeland Security Investigations’ New Jersey field office, France’s national police and Paris Prosecutor’s Office, and Italy’s Polizia di Stato.
For AI operators, this is the enforcement signal worth reading. The TAKE IT DOWN Act requires covered platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate imagery within 48 hours of a valid victim request, and an Ohio man already pleaded guilty under the same statute. Website seizure is a different tool: it skips the 48-hour window and takes the domain. If your platform hosts user-generated images and you don’t have a takedown process wired, the clock isn’t ticking. It’s already stopped.
Acting AG Todd Blanche called it “a significant victory.” The DOJ’s AI enforcement calendar is filling up.
— Nathan Zakhary