Deepfake AI nudes app torments New Jersey teen girls, lawsuit says

🔴 A New Jersey teen says classmates used an AI app to create and share fake nudes.

🔴 Backed by Yale Law School, her family is suing the overseas company behind ClothOff.

🔴 The case highlights growing legal battles over AI deepfakes, child exploitation, and online safety.

A New Jersey teenager and her family are fighting in court with help from Yale Law School to take down websites that use artificial intelligence to make sexual contact from photos of real people, including children.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in New Jersey on behalf of the anonymous Union County girl, who is now 17 years old. She says that three years ago, her New Jersey classmates used an app called ClothOff to generate deepfake photos of her and other young girls at school. Those photos were then shared on Snapchat.

It's not an isolated case. In September 2023, ClothOff was used to create child sex abuse materials of 21 minor girls between the ages of 11 and 17 in Spain, the lawsuit said.

AI/Robotics Venture Strategy 3 Ltd., which owns the ClothOff site, is one defendant. The mysterious company is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. The lawsuit also names the app's developers, Alaiksandr Babichau and Dasha Babicheva, who both apparently live in Minsk, Belarus.

ClothOff app accused of creating nonconsensual nude images

The app ClothOff allows users to upload photos of a person wearing clothes. It then uses artificial intelligence to digitally "undress" the person in the photo, and in seconds, spits out a hyper-realistic nude image of the individual. Users can also pay to have the individual make certain pornographic poses.

ClothOff markets itself as a tool to "undress anyone" — a statement that, disturbingly, is not an exaggeration. It allows users to upload and alter photos of a child or anyone else, all without the individual's knowledge or consent. These photos can then be shared on social media.

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"Left unchecked, Defendants will continue to profit from their criminal exploitation of minors and countless other targets, who ClothOff strips nude for the sexual stimulation and gratification of others," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit seeks to have the website totally removed from the internet and all of its content scrubbed.

New Jersey law bans AI-generated sexual images without consent

These deepfaked nude photos are called nonconsensual intimate images. As of last year, it's illegal to make or distribute AI-generated NCII in New Jersey. Under state law, it's a third-degree offense that carries prison time and a fine of up to $30,000.

Additionally, many tech companies have banned the ClothOff app, including X, Discord, Google, and YouTube.

While Clothoff is known as the largest "nudify" site, with over 3 million users in November 2024, it's not the only one. A 60 Minutes exposé found dozens of similar cases throughout the United States involving countless websites.

From New Jersey victim to national deepfake activist

The 60 Minutes report led with the story of Francesca Mani, a New Jersey teen who was named to the 2024 TIME100 AI List of the World’s Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence.

Mani was a 14-year-old student at Westfield High School in Union County when she and several female classmates became the victims of AI-generated deepfakes. The images were generated and shared by boys at her school. None of the boys was charged with a crime.

While her story is similar, Mani said to New Jersey 101.5 that her family is not involved in the lawsuit filed against AI/Robotics Venture Strategy. Instead, she has taken a public-facing approach.

Now, Mani is a deepfake activist who has had the ears of former Gov. Phil Murphy, U.S. Rep. Tom Kean, R-N.J. 7th District, and Texas U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. Last year, Mani was invited by President Donald Trump to the White House for the signing of the Take It Down Act.

READ MORE: NJ teen makes TIME top 100 in AI for fight against deepfakes

Backed by First Lady Melania Trump, the new federal law means that three years in prison await anyone who posts sexually explicit images of a person online without consent. The Take It Down Act covers real images and deepfaked content.

Mani is now publicly advocating for the DEFIANCE Act, which would allow deepfake survivors to bring civil action against anyone who generates their likeness without consent. She is working with federal lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to get the bill passed.

"Since the public release of AI tools, we have seen an absolute explosion in AI-generated images being used to sexually harass victims and children," Cortez said last Thursday at a press conference that Mani and her mother also attended.

Parents trying to keep their children safe online are navigating a digital minefield. There are countless dangerous apps that teens and adults can use to cause harm.

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