You Don't Have to Choose Between Taking Down Your Images and Seeking Justice

“"I want my images taken down, but I don't want to lose the evidence of what happened to me."”

If you are reading this with a racing heart, wondering how you are going to survive this, I want you to take a deep breath. You are not alone, this is not your fault, and there is a path forward.

I was up late one evening talking with a young woman who had just found out a few days ago that deepfakes of her were circulating all over the internet. A search of her name pulled up dozens of URLs. She was terrified that her new boss would see them and fire her, or that the graduate admissions office at her dream college would reject her.

She had no idea who created them, and she was desperate to get her images down. She wanted to go to the police but didn't even know what to say.

Her mind was racing with questions: Who did this to me? Why did they do it? Who has seen these? How do I prove this isn't me? She had heard of deepfake abuse happening to celebrities like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, but she couldn't understand why someone would target her. She kept asking, Did I do something to someone? Was it an ex?

These are all incredibly common questions. Your brain is trying to make sense of a deeply violating situation. But let me be clear: you did nothing to deserve this. While the "why" might feel urgent to you right now, the most important thing is getting you safe and regaining your control.

The Law Is Moving Closer to What Survivors Actually Need

The volume of deepfake porn rose 464% from 2022 to 2023, and it has continued climbing, increasingly targeting everyday women and girls. But the legal system is finally fighting back.

A precedent for justice: In 2023 at Westfield High School in New Jersey, Francesca Mani was one of 30 teen girls victimized by a classmate who created and shared abuse images. Francesca and her mom, along with many other survivors, successfully fought to pass the first federal bill to make the publication of all forms of intimate image-based sexual abuse (including deepfakes) a crime, requiring platforms to take it down.

Less than a year after the Take It Down Act was signed into law (May 19, 2025), the first case of deepfake abuse was charged. James Strahler II pleaded guilty to three federal charges, including the publication of digital forgeries. He had used AI platforms to victimize at least six women he knew, alongside multiple children.

Perpetrators are facing real consequences, and legally covered technology platforms, like X, Meta, Twitch, Reddit and more, are being held accountable. They must remove nonconsensual and illegal abuse of victims of online image-based sexual abuse, like deepfakes, within 48 hours or face fines.

“And just like the young woman I spoke with late that night, we can help you build a plan to get your content down and ensure you can still pursue justice when you are ready.”

The Action Plan: What We Do Next

The tension between removing your abuse images and preserving the evidence should never fall on your shoulders. Here is the roadmap we used for her, and the one we can use for you:

Document the evidence safely: We will ask you to prepare a list of every URL and every screenshot you can find. You, with our support, will then create a secure account with a trusted technology partner that specializes in removing abuse content.

Verify and submit: You will upload a photo of your face to prove your identity, and we will hit submit together.

Aggressive takedowns: We will do our absolute best to find the existing content and request immediate removal. If a webmaster refuses to cooperate within the legal 48-hour window, we report the URL directly to the Federal Trade Commission, which monitors non-compliant sites.

Ongoing monitoring: We will offer you a free account that enables us to work with our tech partner to continuously monitor the web, find new uploads, and remove them.

Preserve for justice: You will receive a full report on the progress of the takedowns. Crucially, your evidence is securely preserved even after the public images are taken down. Law enforcement will have what they need when you are ready.

I will always be honest with you: the internet has many dark layers, and we may not be able to get every single image or video down overnight. It can take days or weeks. But we will not give up. We will also connect you with vital local and global resources, like StopNCII.org, to further stop the spread while also offering healing resources.

As we ended our call that night, I assured her of the exact same thing I am telling you now: You are not alone. You are part of a community of survivors who are fighting back.

“You do not have to do this alone. You have us.”

To talk to a Digital Identity Foundation advocate, get help, and learn more, visit our Get Support page at /get-support.

Note: This blog is for informational and supportive purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

Andrea Powell, Executive Director, Digital Identity Foundation