A Child’s Explicit Deepfake Was Shared Online: What Parents Should Do First

• If an explicit image or deepfake involving a child is shared online, contact local law enforcement and report it to NCMEC’s CyberTipline in the United States.
• Report the post directly to the platform, but do not download, forward, or request copies of the image just to preserve evidence.
• NCMEC’s free Take It Down service can create a private hash from an image already on the device, while Canada uses Cybertip.ca for national reporting.

The first steps matter

On October 7, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission warned parents and caregivers that explicit images involving children can be criminal even when the image was created with artificial intelligence. The FTC’s advice is straightforward: report the person responsible to law enforcement, ask the platform to remove the material, and use image-hashing tools to help limit further sharing.

If this is happening now, focus on safety and speed rather than trying to investigate the situation yourself. If the child is in immediate danger, call 911 in the United States or 911 in Canada. Otherwise, preserve useful information, make the reports below, and avoid creating more copies of the material.

What to do in the United States

1. Report the incident to law enforcement

Start with your local police department. You can also report suspected online child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children through its CyberTipline. NCMEC reviews reports and makes them available to the appropriate law-enforcement agency.

If the incident involves threats, blackmail, coercion, an unknown offender, or distribution across multiple services, report it to the FBI as well. A child who is being threatened or depicted is a victim of a crime, not someone who is in trouble.

If the child is being pressured to send more images or money, stop communicating with the offender if it is safe to do so. Do not negotiate or pay. Keep the account name, profile URL, messages, dates, and times available for investigators.

2. Preserve evidence without spreading the image

Save information that helps identify the post or sender, including the platform name, account handle, post URL, message timestamps, and any threats. Screenshots of surrounding messages or account details may also help.

Do not forward the explicit image to friends, family members, school staff, reporters, or another platform. Do not download a copy just to submit it to a removal service. NCMEC specifically says that Take It Down submissions should use an image or video already stored on the original device; users should not download or share material to create a submission.

If the only evidence is visible in an app and you are unsure what can legally be retained, ask law enforcement or NCMEC how to preserve it. The priority is to document where the material appeared without increasing its circulation.

3. Report the post directly to the platform

Use the platform’s built-in report option on or near the post. It may appear under a three-dot menu, a safety menu, or a help-center form. Choose the option for child sexual exploitation, explicit content involving a minor, non-consensual intimate imagery, or the closest available category.

Include the direct post or profile URL if the form allows it, explain that the image depicts or appears to depict a child, and request removal of the original post and duplicates. Do not upload additional copies unless the platform’s verified reporting process specifically requires information that cannot be provided another way.

How the 48-hour FTC complaint path works

The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act requires covered platforms to provide a way to request removal of non-consensual intimate images and duplicates. The FTC says that, after a valid removal request, a covered platform generally has 48 hours to remove the material or applicable duplicates.

The FTC complaint process is not the first step. First submit the removal request to the platform, unless its process is unavailable or broken. If the platform does not remove the image or duplicates within 48 hours, or you cannot find a working removal process, you can report the platform to the FTC.

This complaint route is for platform compliance. It does not replace a police report, an FBI report, or a CyberTipline report about the person who created, threatened, possessed, or shared the material.

Use NCMEC’s Take It Down service carefully

Take It Down is a free NCMEC service for nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images and videos made when the person shown was under 18. It can be used even if that person is now an adult, and the service is available internationally.

The tool creates a hash, sometimes described as a digital fingerprint, from the exact file on the user’s device. The image or video stays on that device; NCMEC receives the hash rather than the file. Participating platforms can compare content on public or unencrypted services against the hash list and may block or remove matching copies.

There are limits. Take It Down does not guarantee removal everywhere, cannot scan encrypted services, and may have limited ability to remove material that was posted before a platform began using the system. A synthetic deepfake can be submitted only if the exact image or video is already on the device. Do not search for, download, or ask someone to send the image in order to use the service.

Canada: use the national reporting route

The FTC’s complaint process and the U.S. CyberTipline are American services. In Canada, report online sexual exploitation of a child to Cybertip.ca, Canada’s national tipline operated by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. You can also contact local police, especially if there is an immediate safety concern, a known suspect, blackmail, threats, or offline contact with the child.

Canadian families can still use NCMEC’s Take It Down service for an explicit image or video made when the person shown was under 18. However, the 48-hour FTC complaint route is not the Canadian enforcement process. Report the content to the platform and use Cybertip.ca for the child-exploitation report.

What parents should say to the child

Keep the first conversation calm and direct: “You are not in trouble. This is not your fault. We’re going to get help.” Avoid blaming the child for taking, sharing, or trusting someone. Anger and punishment can make a child stop sharing information at the moment when adults most need to understand what happened.

Ask only the basic questions needed to protect the child and make a report. Do not repeatedly ask the child to view the image, identify every person who may have seen it, or recreate the event. Law enforcement and trained child-protection professionals can handle detailed interviews.

If the child is receiving threats, keep them away from the offender’s messages when possible, but do not delete relevant conversations before getting reporting advice. Consider involving a school counselor, pediatrician, victim-services professional, or another trusted adult who can support the child without spreading the material.

What happens next

Removal may take more than one report because the same material can appear on multiple accounts, services, or websites. Keep a simple incident log with report numbers, dates, platforms, URLs, and responses. If a new copy appears, report that specific location rather than reposting or circulating the image as proof.

The FTC’s October 7, 2026 alert confirms the immediate priorities: contact criminal law enforcement, report to the appropriate child-protection tipline, request platform removal, and use Take It Down when the exact file is already available on the device. If a child is at immediate risk, safety and emergency assistance come before online removal.

Helpful Links

• FTC consumer alert about explicit images of children – Read the FTC’s October 7, 2026 guidance on law-enforcement reports, platform removal, and the 48-hour complaint process.
• NCMEC Take It Down – Create a private hash from an eligible image or video already stored on the device to help limit public or unencrypted sharing.
• NCMEC CyberTipline – Report suspected online child sexual exploitation to the U.S. national reporting service.
• FBI Electronic Tip Form – Submit information about suspected federal crimes involving online child exploitation or related threats.
• FTC Take It Down platform complaint – Report a covered platform that did not remove an intimate image or duplicate within 48 hours or has no working removal process.
• Cybertip.ca – Use Canada’s national tipline to report the online sexual exploitation of children.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Should I download the deepfake so I can report it?

A. No. Do not download, forward, or ask someone to send an explicit image involving a minor just to create evidence or submit it to Take It Down. Record the post URL, account name, platform, dates, and surrounding messages, then ask law enforcement or NCMEC how to preserve anything already on the device.

Q. Can Take It Down remove an AI-generated image?

A. It may help if you already have the exact image or video file on your device and the content fits the service’s eligibility rules. Take It Down creates a hash without uploading the file. It cannot guarantee removal from every website, encrypted service, or previously posted copy.

Q. Does the FTC’s 48-hour rule apply in Canada?

A. The FTC complaint route is a U.S. process for covered platforms under the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Canadian families should report the content to the platform, contact local police when appropriate, and report online child sexual exploitation to Cybertip.ca.

Q. What if the image is only a threat and has not been posted?

A. Report the threat anyway. Do not pay or send additional images. Preserve the messages and account details, contact local law enforcement, and use the relevant U.S. or Canadian child-exploitation reporting service.