Someone Made AI Nude Deepfakes of You: The 48-Hour Take It Down Act Playbook

Image: GAN-generated synthetic faces (not real people) · Credit: Vahan03, Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain · source

Quick answer: You can get AI-generated nude images of you taken down fast, and you do not have to negotiate with whoever posted them. Create a case at StopNCII.org (if you are 18 or over) or Take It Down from NCMEC (if the images are of someone under 18) to hash-block the images across major platforms, and send a removal request to each platform. Under the US Take It Down Act, covered platforms must remove reported non-consensual intimate images, including AI deepfakes, as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours.

Discovering that someone has made fake nude images of you with an AI "nudify" app is violating and frightening. But the law and the tools have caught up. You can force removal quickly, and you should act on that rather than engaging with a blackmailer. Here is the playbook.

What to do

1. Do not pay or negotiate if this comes with a blackmail demand. Paying invites more demands. Focus on takedown and reporting.
2. Preserve evidence, but do not reshare. Note the URLs, usernames and dates, and take screenshots for your report. Do not forward the images to anyone except to file a report.
3. Hash-block the images. If you are 18 or over, create a case at StopNCII.org; it generates a digital fingerprint (hash) from the image on your own device, so you never upload the picture itself, and participating platforms block matches. If the person is under 18, use Take It Down from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
4. Report to each platform. Use the site's non-consensual-intimate-image or deepfake reporting option and request removal. US platforms covered by the Take It Down Act must remove a valid report as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours.
5. Report to the authorities. If a platform fails to remove the images, report it to the FTC's dedicated portal at takeitdown.ftc.gov. Report the wider blackmail or fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov (and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov). If the victim is a minor, report to NCMEC's CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org.

What the Take It Down Act does

The US Take It Down Act makes it illegal to publish non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated or "deepfake" ones, and requires covered online platforms to remove them within 48 hours of a valid request from the victim and to make reasonable efforts to remove copies. Covered platforms were required to have this removal process in place from 19 May 2026, and the Federal Trade Commission began enforcing the duty then. In practice, that means a platform that ignores a proper request is breaking federal law, which is leverage you can cite in your report.

Frequently asked questions

How fast can I get deepfake images removed? Under the US Take It Down Act, covered platforms must remove a valid report as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours. Hash-matching via StopNCII or Take It Down can block re-uploads too.

Do I have to upload the image to StopNCII? No. StopNCII creates a hash on your own device and only the hash is shared, not the picture.

What if the person in the images is under 18? Use NCMEC's Take It Down tool and report to the CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org. Do not use adult services for images of minors.

Someone is threatening to post AI nudes of me unless I pay. What do I do? Do not pay. Preserve evidence, hash-block the images, report to the platforms, and contact the FBI at ic3.gov. Paying a blackmailer rarely ends it.

Does this only apply in the United States? The 48-hour removal duty is a US law, but StopNCII works with platforms worldwide, and many countries have their own image-abuse reporting routes.

Related: financial sextortion and how parents can help and the 2026 deepfake fraud economy.

If you have been targeted, you are not alone. See our cybercrime help hub for step-by-step reporting and recovery guides.