For Law Enforcement — US & Canada
Your Caseload Didn't Get Smaller. Your Options Just Did — Until Now.
Refer a Victim
Get a survivor's images down and evidence preserved, without adding to your team's workload.
Make a Referral →Request Training
Free 2-hour virtual trainings; in-person available. Built and led by people who've shaped federal law in this space.
Request a Training →Set Up Tech Access
Give your agency direct access to Protect Privacy AI, our tech partner's detection and takedown platform.
Get Tech Access →Why Work With Us
Built to Plug Into Your Investigation, Not Replace It
Every image-based sexual abuse case that lands on your desk comes with the same problem: the images are already moving, across platforms your department doesn't have relationships with, faster than any single unit can chase. Most agencies don't have a dedicated image-removal capability, and building one isn't realistic for most budgets or staffing levels.
We built ours specifically to plug into yours. We're not a replacement for your investigation — we're the piece that runs alongside it: getting images off the open web while you build the case, without you having to learn a new set of platform policies or spend hours on takedown requests that don't require a badge to file. Free for agencies. Confidential for survivors. No cost to your department to make a referral.
Referrals
Referring a Survivor
If you're working a case involving deepfake abuse, sextortion, or non-consensual intimate images, you can refer the survivor to us directly, or have them reach out themselves — either way works.
On evidence: We know a takedown done wrong can hurt a prosecution. Our process is built to preserve evidence, not destroy it — documenting URLs, timestamps, and platform data before any removal request goes out, so what we do supports your case rather than working against it. If your case has specific evidence-handling requirements, tell us and we'll work within them.
What we handle: locating and documenting where content has spread, filing takedown and hashing requests with platforms (including through StopNCII.org and our tech partner, Protect Privacy AI), and connecting the survivor with trauma-informed support — all in parallel with your investigation, not in place of it.
Training
Free Training for Your Team
We offer a free 2-hour training, available virtually, covering how to recognize and respond to image-based sexual abuse cases: what the law currently covers, how to preserve evidence while a takedown is in progress, how to refer a survivor to us, and how to talk to a victim about this specific kind of harm in a way that doesn't shut down disclosure. In-person training is also available for departments that want it, with fees to be determined based on location and format.
Led by
Andrea Powell
Executive Director, Digital Identity Foundation
An internationally recognized policy leader, author, and advocate with more than two decades of experience fighting image-based sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She has co-led over 600 law enforcement trainings in Washington, D.C. and around the United States, China, Serbia, Russia and Uganda. Founder of FAIR Girls and Karana Rising, co-founder of STISA.network and author of the memoir Believe Me. A survivor herself, she brings a trauma-informed lens to every training she leads.
Dawn Hawkins
Founder & Board President, Digital Identity Foundation; Founder & CEO, Protect Privacy AI
Previously Executive Director and then CEO of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation for roughly 14 years, where she built its law center and was a central architect of the federal Take It Down Act. She has personally been targeted by deepfake abuse.
Mariah Rief
Survivor advocate; Founder, Undox Content Removal
A leading voice on California IBSA legislation, with direct experience collaborating with federal law enforcement and policymakers to close gaps in current law and platform accountability.
Technology
Direct Access to Protect Privacy AI
Protect Privacy AI is the detection and removal technology built by our tech partner — it uses facial recognition and hashing to find where a survivor's images have spread and coordinate removal with platforms. Agencies can request a direct account to use alongside their own investigations, not just through a DIF referral.
Federal Law
The Law, Simplified
Last updated: August 2026
United States
The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (signed into law May 2025) makes it a federal crime to publish non-consensual intimate images — including AI-generated deepfakes — of an identifiable person, and to threaten to do so as a form of extortion. It also requires platforms to remove reported content within 48 hours. Enforcement sits with the FTC.
The DEFIANCE Act, which would create a federal civil claim for deepfake victims (letting them sue for damages up to $250,000), passed the Senate unanimously but has not yet passed the House as of this writing — it is not yet law. Worth knowing about for victims asking about civil options, but don't represent it as current law.
Canada
Section 162.1 of the Criminal Code has criminalized the non-consensual distribution of real intimate images since 2015. In 2026, the Protecting Victims Act (Bill C-16) received Royal Assent and took effect in July 2026, extending that definition to cover AI-generated and "nearly nude" deepfake images, with penalties up to five years for distribution.
A note on state and provincial law: this section covers federal law only — state and provincial law varies significantly and changes often. If you need to know what applies in your specific jurisdiction, that's exactly the kind of question to bring to us directly rather than relying on this page alone.
This is not legal advice. Consult your agency's legal counsel or prosecutor's office for guidance on a specific case.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I refer a survivor to the Digital Identity Foundation?
Use the referral form linked above, or have the survivor reach out to us directly — either path works, and both are free and confidential.
Will working with DIF interfere with my investigation or damage evidence?
No — our process is built to document and preserve evidence (URLs, timestamps, platform data) before any takedown request is filed, specifically so it supports rather than compromises a case. Tell us about any specific evidence-handling requirements for your case.
Is the training really free?
Yes, the 2-hour virtual training is free. In-person training is available with fees depending on location and format.
What's the difference between the Take It Down Act and the DEFIANCE Act?
The Take It Down Act is current federal law — it criminalizes distributing non-consensual intimate images (including deepfakes) and requires platforms to remove them within 48 hours. The DEFIANCE Act would add a federal civil lawsuit option for victims but has not yet passed the House, so it isn't law yet.
Does this apply in Canada too?
Yes — Canada has criminalized non-consensual distribution of real intimate images since 2015, and as of July 2026 the Protecting Victims Act extends that to AI-generated deepfake images federally.
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