International Law Enforcement Seizes Deepfake Porn Sites in Landmark TAKE IT DOWN Act Operation
U.S., French, and Italian authorities seized CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com, arresting a French administrator and recovering 300,000 images and 7,000 videos of nonconsensual deepfake pornography.
Law enforcement agencies in the United States, France, and Italy have dismantled one of the largest deepfake pornography operations ever uncovered, seizing the domains CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com. The sites, which hosted thousands of AI-generated sexual images of celebrities, politicians, and other public figures without their consent, were taken down under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a bipartisan U.S. law passed last year that criminalizes the creation and distribution of nonconsensual deepfake pornography. The operation marks one of the most significant enforcement actions since the law took effect.
The investigation began when Italian Polizia de Stato alerted U.S. authorities to the website, while a parallel probe by the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office led to the arrest of Cyrille B., a 47-year-old French national accused of being an administrator for CFAKE. A search of his home in Nice uncovered computer equipment linked to the site and approximately $48,000 in Ethereum cryptocurrency believed to be proceeds from the site's advertising revenue. The suspect, who had no prior criminal record, is scheduled to stand trial on July 7 and faces potential penalties of up to seven years in prison and a €500,000 fine.
According to the Department of Justice, the sites allowed users to browse content by categories including "rape," "forced," and "degradation," and featured images of women from multiple countries, including first ladies, royalty, journalists, television presenters, athletes, and entertainers. The French investigation identified 300,000 images and 7,000 videos depicting 14,000 individuals. The platform had approximately 200,000 user accounts, attracted 4 million monthly views, and received 50 new pieces of content uploaded daily.
Robert Fraiser, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, said in a statement: "These seizures stopped a website that trafficked in humiliation, exploitation, and the violation of personal privacy on a massive scale. For the victims whose images were distributed without their consent, the harm is not virtual — it is deeply personal and often enduring." The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigation division is leading the federal investigation alongside the U.S. Attorney's office for New Jersey.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act, which passed with rare bipartisan support, gives federal authorities the ability to criminally prosecute individuals who create and distribute deepfake pornography. The law was driven by growing public demand for tougher regulations on AI-generated nonconsensual intimate imagery, which has proliferated as generative AI tools have become more accessible. This operation demonstrates the law's reach across international borders, as the sites relied on a web of global assets and infrastructure to evade detection.
The scale of the seizure — 300,000 images and 7,000 videos — underscores the magnitude of the deepfake pornography problem. Experts have warned that such content can cause lasting psychological harm to victims, who often face reputational damage and emotional distress when their likenesses are used without consent. The operation also highlights the importance of international cooperation in combating cyber-enabled crimes that cross jurisdictional boundaries.
As AI-generated content becomes increasingly realistic, law enforcement agencies worldwide are racing to adapt. The successful takedown of CFAKE and SOCFAKE sends a clear signal that authorities are willing to pursue perpetrators across borders and use new legal tools to hold them accountable. The case is expected to serve as a precedent for future actions against similar platforms.