A man who posted deepfake pornographic images of prominent Australian women has been slapped with a hefty fine as a “strong message” in a first-of-its-kind case.
The Federal Court ordered Anthony Rotondo, also known as Antonio, to pay a $343,500 penalty plus costs on Friday after the online regulator eSafety Commissioner brought a case against him almost two years ago.
Rotondo admitted to posting the images on a website called MrDeepFakes.com, which has since been shut down.
The man admitted to posting the images on a website called MrDeepFakes.com, which has since been shut down.Credit: Istock
The regulator had argued a significant civil penalty was needed to reflect the seriousness of the Online Safety Act breaches and the damaging impact the image-based abuse had on the women targeted.
“This action sends a strong message about the consequences for anyone who perpetrates deepfake image-based abuse,” the watchdog said late on Friday.
“eSafety remains deeply concerned by the non-consensual creation and sharing of explicit deepfake images, which can cause significant psychological and emotional distress.”
The commissioner took Rotondo to the Federal Court in 2023 after he replied to a removal notice, saying it meant nothing to him as he was not an Australian resident.
“Get an arrest warrant if you think you are right,” he had said.
After a court ordered Rotondo to remove images and not share the pictures, he emailed them to 50 addresses including the eSafety Commissioner and media outlets.
