The first person has been convicted under a new US anti-deepfake law

The first person was convicted under the new federal anti-AI law com. deepfake the law, Take it law. It’s a historic moment for supporters of the law and the growing movement to protect people, especially children, from dangerous and offensive content created by artificial intelligence.

President Donald Trump signed the Take It Down Act into law in 2025. It was the first federal law of its kind that specifically dealt with AI-generated deepfakes, an issue of increasing importance as the quality of AI-generated images and videos rapidly improves. The law criminalizes the creation and sharing of non-consensual intimate images, captured using computer editing or artificial intelligence, and requires technology companies such as… Meta and Google to create processes For people to request that images containing their likeness be removed from their platforms.

James Strahler II, 37, of Ohio, was arrested in June 2025 on federal charges of cyberstalking, disseminating or sharing digital forgery of adult sexual assault material and production of child sexual assault material. He pleaded guilty to all four charges Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The penalty will be determined at a future hearing. Strahler’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

the The US Department of Justice said Strahler had 24 AI platforms, and had access to more than 100 web-based AI models on his machines. He used those tools to create 700 images of real and animated victims, some of which used the faces of young children in his community. He had an additional 2,400 images of child sexual abuse material on his devices.

US Attorney Dominic S. Geras II said in a statement: “We will not tolerate the abhorrent practice of publishing and disseminating AI-generated intimate images of real individuals without their consent.” “We are committed to using every tool at our disposal to hold accountable criminals like Strahler, who seek to intimidate and harass others by creating and distributing this disturbing content.”

This case represents a decisive victory for advocates of the Take It Down Act. First Lady Melania Trump, a supporter of the law, celebrated the news In a post on X He thanked Gerris for “protecting Americans from cybercrime in this new digital age.”

The US Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, another supporter, told CNET CyberTipline It received more than 7,000 reports of people creating or possessing AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

“Survivors’ trauma is real, lasting, and profoundly violating,” said Yuta Surace, chief legal officer at NCMEC. “We applaud Congress for providing this much-needed new law for law enforcement to hold perpetrators accountable. Stronger safeguards, greater accountability, and continued support for survivors are critical to preventing this abuse and helping those affected recover.”

Other supporters pointed to the law’s specific language around artificial intelligence.

“This conviction is proof that the Take It Down Act has teeth,” Stefan Tuerkheimer, vice president of public policy at RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, told CNET in a statement. “For too long, perpetrators have weaponized AI to create and distribute non-consensual intimate images, destroying jobs, families and lives with almost no legal consequences. That is changing now.”