New York District Attorney Seizes 12 Celebrity Deepfake Websites

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced on Monday the seizure of 12 domains used to share, publish, and sell nonconsensual AI generated sexual images and videos. Officials believe this is the largest seizure of its kind to date. The websites allegedly featured hyper realistic imagery of approximately 1,200 people, including actors, politicians, athletes, musicians, social media influencers, and social justice advocates. District Attorney Alvin Bragg stated that the investigation into those responsible for the websites and those who uploaded the content is ongoing.

The seizures were carried out under New York criminal procedure laws. Bragg noted that New York has had laws specifically criminalizing sexually explicit deepfakes since 2023. During a press conference, Bragg emphasized that while celebrities were the primary targets of these specific sites, deepfakes are also used in domestic violence cases. He urged victims to contact the office's Cyber Crime Bureau for assistance.

When asked if images of minors were included on the seized websites, Bragg declined to answer, stating that the investigation is ongoing. The seized sites often used face swapping technology to place the likenesses of public figures into existing pornographic videos. Some of these sites had been active since 2018 and received millions of views.

This action follows other recent efforts to combat synthetic nonconsensual intimate imagery. In June, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security seized two similar domains. Additionally, the site MrDeepfakes.com shut down in May 2025 following an investigation by several media organizations. Recently, the first man in the U.S. was sentenced to 15 years in prison for violating the Take It Down Act after investigators found thousands of abuse images on his devices.