DOJ seizes CFAKE, SOCFAKE deepfake nude sites under TAKE IT DOWN Act - BleepingComputer
The U.S. Department of Justice seized domains CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com for hosting nonconsensual AI-generated nude images of women under the TAKE IT DOWN Act
- Incident date
- Jun 2025
- Target
- Various women including politicians, celebrities, athletes, journalists, and royalty
On June 13, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the seizure of the websites CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com. These platforms were targeted for allegedly hosting nonconsensual AI-generated nude images and videos of women, marking the first publicly announced domain seizure under the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
What happened
The websites hosted sexually explicit deepfakes depicting a wide range of public-facing figures, including politicians, first ladies, royalty, journalists, athletes, and entertainers from multiple countries. The investigation originated after Italy's Postal and Cybersecurity Police alerted U.S. authorities to the sites, having launched their own inquiry in October 2025 following numerous complaints.
Following the alert, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Justice obtained seizure warrants after a federal judge found probable cause that the sites violated 47 U.S.C. § 223. This legislation, signed into law in May 2025, prohibits the nonconsensual publication of intimate imagery and digital forgeries. The operation involved international coordination between the United States, France, and Italy. French authorities conducted an investigation that resulted in the arrest of a suspect in Nice, France, on June 10, alongside the seizure of cryptocurrency allegedly linked to the operation. The seized domains now display a notice indicating they were taken offline as part of these coordinated law enforcement actions.