Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Monday the seizure of multiple websites that used AI to generate and distribute non-consensual pornography featuring the likenesses of celebrities and public figures. The operation targeted 12 websites that hosted deepfake content, a move that signals escalating legal pressure on AI-enabled sexual exploitation.
"Across 12 websites alone that were seized, we identified more than 1,200 people whose images were turned into deepfakes," Bragg said. "That is 1,200 people whose likenesses, including their faces and their bodies, were turned into AI pornography. The victims here were primarily women and primarily celebrities or other public-facing figures."
The websites were accessible in Manhattan and across New York state. Bragg drew a direct legal parallel between traditional image-based sexual abuse and content generated by artificial intelligence. "It is illegal to share real photos and videos of people engaging in sex without their permission," he said. "Likewise, it is also illegal to show that content if it's created or altered by artificial intelligence tools."
The human toll and legal precedent
Bragg emphasized that the harm from this content persists long after its creation. "These horrific violations of privacy follow victims. They follow victims into their careers and personal lives and take an immense toll on their emotional and mental well-being," he said. The announcement establishes a clear prosecutorial stance: Manhattan will treat AI-generated sexual content without consent the same as non-consensual sharing of real intimate images.
The enforcement action arrives amid broader warnings about AI safety from industry leaders. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for the industry to slow development of its most advanced models, citing concerns that safety research cannot match the pace of capability improvements. "If we go too slow, I still believe that the wrong people will be in charge of the technology, and you know that again will bring the probability of things going wrong very high," Amodei said.
Government response at multiple levels
Federal lawmakers are introducing legislation in response to these concerns. New Jersey Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer and New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler introduced the bipartisan "Stop Rogue AI Act." The bill directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop methods for tracking and securing AI agents, including tools for companies and federal agencies to monitor what those agents do on their networks and stop them when necessary.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged immediate congressional action. "Congress should not leave town until something is done decisively to protect the safety and wellbeing of the American people in the face of growing concerns being raised by experts within the artificial intelligence industry itself," Jeffries said. The intersection of AI for Legal frameworks and AI for Government oversight is driving policy debates from city hall to Capitol Hill.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani pointed to local actions already underway. The city recently banned generative AI use from 2-K through eighth grade. "We are going to continue to explore all of the avenues we have to protect New Yorkers," Mamdani said.
Why this matters for legal and government professionals
The Manhattan DA's seizure of deepfake websites marks a concrete application of existing law to AI-generated content. For prosecutors and legal professionals, it establishes a template: non-consensual intimate imagery laws apply regardless of whether the content is real or synthetic. The case also creates a record of digital evidence collection and website seizure specific to AI exploitation.
For government affairs and policy professionals, the simultaneous introduction of the "Stop Rogue AI Act" alongside local enforcement actions signals that AI regulation is no longer abstract. Multiple jurisdictions are moving simultaneously - cities through school bans, district attorneys through criminal enforcement, and Congress through standards-setting legislation. The 64% of voters who believe AI will decrease jobs, according to a recent CBS News poll, adds electoral weight to these efforts.
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