New York seizes 12 domains in largest deepfake porn crackdown
The sites were dedicated to deepfake celebrity porn.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (R). Image by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images.
- Manhattan prosecutors seized 12 websites selling AI-generated non-consensual pornography of public figures.
- Investigators say about 1,200 people had their faces and bodies used without consent.
- The victims include actors, politicians, athletes, musicians, advocates, and influencers, most of them women.
- Authorities also found vendors selling stolen payment card data alongside the illegal domains.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
New York authorities have seized 12 illegal websites selling celebrity deepfake revenge porn.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced that it has dismantled 12 domains used to illegally spread, publish, and sell non-consensual pornography featuring public figures.
Individuals who used AI to create images and videos of roughly 1,200 real people are also being investigated.
“1,200 individuals had their faces and bodies stolen and turned into illegal pornography on 12 different websites without their knowledge or consent… today my office is announcing that we have seized these websites,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr.
The Manhattan DA’s office added that these horrific privacy violations will haunt the victims, following them throughout their careers and personal lives.
Attackers used victims’ likenesses to generate non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) of them engaging in sex acts.
Those affected included actors, politicians, athletes, musicians, social justice advocates, and social media influencers, with an overwhelming majority of victims being women.
These websites were “almost exclusively dedicated to AI-generated NCII.” The domains wouldn’t obscure their purpose, as they would “explicitly advertise as deepfake pornography.”
While cracking down on the 12 domains, authorities found that these websites had been sold by five online vendors, which were also in the crime business.
Along with domains, these vendors sold stolen credit and debit card information, as well as cardholders' personally identifiable information.
This included more than one million cards stolen from across the country and tens of thousands in New York.
Authorities also took down the domain “Coin Dispute Network,” which was later indicted along with its founders, Michael Lauchlan and Gary Zaydman.
The pair allegedly attempted to scam customers by claiming they could trace and recover stolen cryptocurrency in exchange for payment.
Stay updated with our latest stories and follow us on social media
Be the first to discover new stories, ideas, and updates from our team.
Worldwide crackdown on deepfake porn
In the US, authorities have been cracking down on non-consensual deepfake pornography by arresting two men who created deepfake pornography of approximately 140 women, which garnered millions of views.
At the same time, Steven Andregg was let off a charge after the US court ruled that having deepfake child porn of fictional children didn’t constitute possession.
Across the world, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have long been cracking down on deepfake pornography websites.
MrDeepFakes was taken down by its operators following pressure from the UK and the Netherlands.
In a farewell message on the platform's website, administrators said that “a critical service provider had terminated service permanently. Data loss has made it impossible to continue operation.”
MrDeepFakes was supposedly “the best celebrity deepfake porn tube site,” which featured celebrity porn videos and fake nude images of actors, YouTubers, Twitch streamers, and other notable figures.
Similarly, an Australian court fined a man $343,000 after creating and uploading deepfake pornography of six high-profile women.
