Australian man fined about $343,500 for deepfake porn of high-profile women in landmark case

A Queensland man has been ordered to pay about 343,500 Australian dollars in penalties and costs in a Federal Court case over creating and sharing deepfake pornographic images of prominent Australian women. The decision marks a landmark application of the Online Safety Act to image-based abuse carried out with synthetic visuals.

Anthony Rotondo, who also goes by Antonio, admitted to posting the images on the now-defunct site MrDeepFakes.com. The eSafety Commissioner filed the civil case almost two years ago, arguing that a significant civil penalty was needed to reflect the seriousness of the breaches and the harm inflicted on the women targeted.

Court records show Rotondo removed the images after providing passwords and other information during the regulator's investigation, and he later admitted contempt when he emailed the images to about 50 addresses, including the eSafety Commissioner's office and media outlets. The court ordered him to remove the images and refrain from sharing them.

Rotondo’s response to the removal notice included a statement that he was not Australian and a reply that read 'Get an arrest warrant if you think you are right.' He later complied with requests for passwords and other information, which led to the removal of the images.

The proceedings began after police in Queensland located Rotondo on the Gold Coast in December 2023, while detectives were responding to a complaint that a Brisbane school had been sent an email containing deepfake images of students and teachers. He was found seated at a table with a laptop in a Gold Coast apartment, investigators said.

In a separate but related action, the eSafety Commissioner issued a formal warning in September to a UK-based technology company for enabling the creation of child sexual exploitation material. The regulator underscored its ongoing vigilance against AI-enabled abuse and the harm it can cause.

The federal penalty, which covers damages and costs, reflects the seriousness of non-consensual deepfake image-based abuse under Australia’s online safety framework. Officials described the ruling as a strong message about consequences for perpetrators and a signal to other potential offenders about the penalties they may face.

This case is regarded as a milestone in the enforcement of image-based abuse laws in the digital age, illustrating how regulators can pursue civil penalties tied to the harm caused by synthetic pornographic content. The site at the center of the case, MrDeepFakes.com, has since been shut down, curtailing one of the platforms often used to disseminate manipulated images.

As regulators continue to adapt to rapidly evolving technologies, experts say the Rotondo ruling may influence future cases involving deepfake abuses targeting public figures and private individuals alike. The decision also highlights the balance authorities seek to strike between encouraging legitimate AI innovation and protecting individuals from reputational and psychological harm resulting from non-consensual image-based content.

If you are seeking updates on similar actions or regulatory developments in Technology & AI, this case serves as a reference point for how online safety laws are being applied to deepfake content and the responsibilities of platform operators, creators, and distributors in preventing harm.