Bragg seized 12 deepfake porn domains on the theory that loading in Manhattan is enough
Alvin Bragg's office took the sites offline by court order and says about 1,200 people were depicted without consent. It will not say whether anyone will be charged, and the legal hook is a 2023 New York statute.
The Watch · Security desk
What happened
- The Manhattan District Attorney's Office seized 12 domains it says were used to create, sell and distribute AI-generated sexual videos of about 1,200 real people without their consent.
- Those depicted were overwhelmingly women and largely public figures, including actors, politicians, athletes, musicians, social justice advocates and social media influencers, according to the office.
- The office called the action the largest known seizure of websites dedicated to AI-generated celebrity deepfakes to date, and said the sites explicitly promoted AI-generated content.
Why it matters
- Who's exposed exposure On the standard Bragg gave reporters, a deepfake site is reachable by a New York prosecutor if the site is reachable from Manhattan, whatever the location of the operators or the hosting.
- What it limits constraint Because the order reaches names rather than content, the office has committed itself to open-ended policing: each new domain the operators register is a separate piece of work.
- Who has to decide decision Bragg's framing invites a caseload beyond celebrities, and domestic violence victims threatened with synthetic images now have a stated route into the Cyber Crime Bureau.
- What it sets up precedent Two seizures in the same year make taking the domain the opening move against these operations, with charging decisions deferred behind an ongoing investigation.
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New York criminalized sexually explicit deepfakes in 2023, and Bragg pointed to that legislation when reporters asked which law his office was acting under [9]. The reach he described at the press conference does not depend on where the operators sit. "If you let us know that an image has been posted without your permission, without your consent, we can take action as long as that website is accessible from Manhattan," Bragg said [15]. He also said his office knows of domestic violence cases in which partners threatened to release deepfake images of victims [11].
The office did not release the names of the 12 sites [16]. Bragg declined to say whether arrests or charges will be pursued, telling reporters only that the investigation is ongoing [4]. Asked whether images of minors were among the material, he gave the same answer [5]. Assistant District Attorneys Lotus Ho and Katherine Ellis are handling the case [20].
The court order covers domain names [14]. Bragg said the office would keep monitoring the sites and try to take down any attempt to revive the platforms on new domains [6]. Revivals get found and removed one at a time. The largest site in this category, the hosting site and forum MrDeepfakes.com, shut down in May 2025 after an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Company, Der Spiegel and Bellingcat [12].
In June, the Justice Department and Homeland Security seized two domains publishing thousands of digitally forged images and videos depicting famous women without their consent [22]. Add Monday's 12 and the publicly announced US total across the two actions is 14 domains [17]. Spread evenly, the roughly 1,200 people Manhattan identified work out to 100 per site, and that assumes nobody appeared on more than one [21]. The Record reported more than 1,200 people; the D.A.'s office and 404 Media put the figure at approximately 1,200 [2][1].
Every enforcement action in this record aims at operators, developers or a tool provider. Microsoft sued six developers last year over the use of its Azure OpenAI services to create non-consensual intimate images of celebrities [18]. The European Commission opened an inquiry into X earlier this year after its Grok tool was used to create sexual images of a minor [19]. Earlier this month the first man convicted of violating the Take It Down Act was sentenced to 15 years, after investigators found more than 3,000 real and AI-generated abuse images on his devices [13]. Bragg's office asked people who believe they were affected to call its Cyber Crime Bureau at 212-335-9600 [8].
What to watch
- Whether the case is charged in New York or referred to federal prosecutors under the Take It Down Act.
- Publication of the 12 site names would let hosts and payment processors cut the operators off without a court order.
- Whether another state prosecutor uses Bragg's accessibility standard against a site hosted outside the United States.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+25
- Incentives60
- Confidence60
Perspective Coverage
4 publishers- Builder
- Builder 20%
- Operator
- Operator 66%
- Investor
- Investor 14%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office seized the domains of 12 websites allegedly used to create, sell and distribute AI-generated deepfake videos featuring approximately 1,200 real people without their consent.
- [2]
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg held a press conference on Monday touting the takedown of the sites, which hosted AI-generated videos of more than 1,200 people.
- [3]
The D.A.'s office described the action as the largest known seizure of websites dedicated to AI-generated celebrity deepfakes to date.
- [4]
Bragg declined to say whether arrests or charges will be pursued, only telling reporters that the investigation is ongoing.
- [5]
Bragg declined to answer whether images of minors were included in these websites, saying, "The investigation is ongoing."
- [6]
Bragg said they would continue to monitor the sites and try to take down any attempts to revive the platforms on new domains.
- [7]
The approximately 1,200 people affected were overwhelmingly women, and many were public-facing individuals including actors, politicians, athletes, musicians, social justice advocates and social media influencers, according to the D.A.'s Office.
- [8]
The D.A.'s office is urging people who believe they were affected to contact its Cyber Crime Bureau at 212-335-9600.
- [9]
New York has had laws specifically criminalizing sexually explicit deepfakes in place since 2023, and Bragg referenced this legislation when asked what law the office is acting on.
- [10]
The websites were allegedly dedicated almost exclusively to deepfake pornography and explicitly promoted AI-generated content.
- [11]
Bragg noted during the press conference that while many of those who appeared on the site are celebrities, they know of domestic violence cases where partners threatened to release deepfake images of victims.
- [12]
In May 2025, the deepfakes hosting site and forum MrDeepfakes.com shut down following an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Company, Der Spiegel and Bellingcat.
- [13]
Earlier this month, the first man in the country to be convicted of violating the Take It Down Act was sentenced to 15 years in prison, after investigators found more than 3,000 real and AI-generated abuse images on his devices.
- [14]
The Manhattan D.A.'s Office said the 12 domains were seized pursuant to a court order as part of the criminal investigation.
- [15]
"So, whoever you are, the message to survivors is the same: You are not alone. Help is available. If you let us know that an image has been posted without your permission, without your consent, we can take action as long as that website is accessible from Manhattan," District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at the Monday press conference.
- [16]
The names of the sites were not released.
- [17]
Across the two publicly announced US actions, 14 domains have been seized: two in the June federal action and 12 in Manhattan.
- [18]
Microsoft filed a lawsuit last year against six developers who used the company's Azure OpenAI services to create non-consensual intimate images of celebrities and other sexually explicit content.
- [19]
Earlier this year, the European Commission announced an inquiry into social media platform X after its Grok AI tool was used to create sexual images of a minor.
- [20]
Assistant District Attorneys Lotus Ho and Katherine Ellis are handling the case under the supervision of senior officials within the Cyber Crime Bureau and Investigation Division.
- [21]
The approximately 1,200 people identified across 12 seized sites averages 100 people per site, assuming no person appeared on more than one site.
- [22]
In June, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security seized two domains that were being used to publish thousands of digitally forged images and videos depicting famous women as nude and sometimes engaged in sexual activity, without their consent.
Sources
4 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- 404media.coNew York Seizes 12 Celebrity Deepfake Websites
1 article · September 14, 2026
- malwarebytes.com12 celebrity deepfake websites seized by Manhattan DA
1 article · September 17, 2026
- thecyberexpress.comManhattan D.A. Seizes 12 Deepfake Porn Websites Targeting 1,200 People
1 article · September 15, 2026
- therecord.mediaManhattan DA takes down 12 AI deepfake porn sites
1 article · September 15, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Deepfake non-consensual intimate imagery
- Law on AI-generated content
Entities
- Microsoft
- U.S. Department of Justice
- European Commission
- Grok
- Manhattan District Attorney's Office
- X
- Take It Down Act