ScanErase
NCII & Deepfake Glossary
88 definitions covering NCII law, deepfake technology, legal remedies, platform removal, and victim resources — written by the ScanErase team under the 2026 TAKE IT DOWN Act.
Tl;dr
This glossary covers every term you need to understand non-consensual intimate imagery law in 2026. From the TAKE IT DOWN Act to biometric face embeddings to Section 223a notices — each entry includes key facts, FAQs, and related terms.
Core NCII Concepts
What Is NCII?
NCII — non-consensual intimate imagery — refers to any intimate, sexual, or nude image shared without the consent of the...
Read the guide →Core NCII Concepts
What Is Revenge Porn?
Revenge porn is a colloquial term for the non-consensual sharing of intimate or sexual images, typically by a former rom...
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What Is Image-Based Abuse?
Image-based abuse refers to the broader spectrum of harms caused by intimate or sexual images used without consent — inc...
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What Is Non-Consensual Pornography?
Non-consensual pornography is an older legal term for sexual imagery distributed without the depicted person's consent. ...
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What Is Sextortion?
Sextortion is a form of online blackmail in which a perpetrator uses real or fabricated intimate images as leverage to e...
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What Is a Sextortion Scam?
A sextortion scam is an organized, often mass-automated extortion campaign in which perpetrators — frequently criminal n...
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What Is Online Blackmail?
Online blackmail is the use of digital content — including intimate images, private messages, financial information, or ...
Read the guide →Core NCII Concepts
What Is a Non-Consensual Intimate Visual Depiction?
Non-consensual intimate visual depiction (NCIVD) is the exact statutory term used in the 2026 TAKE IT DOWN Act. It cover...
Read the guide →Core NCII Concepts
What Is Image-Based Sexual Abuse?
Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) is the preferred academic and policy term for the full spectrum of harms caused by intim...
Read the guide →Core NCII Concepts
What Is Unsolicited Intimate Imagery?
Unsolicited intimate imagery refers to intimate or sexual photographs or videos sent to a person who did not request the...
Read the guide →Core NCII Concepts
What Is Cyber Exploitation?
Cyber exploitation is a broad term for using digital technology to exploit individuals for financial gain, sexual gratif...
Read the guide →Core NCII Concepts
What Is a Non-Consensual Video?
A non-consensual video is any recording of intimate or sexual content involving a real person that was created or distri...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is a Deepfake?
A deepfake is a synthetic media file in which artificial intelligence is used to generate or superimpose a person's real...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is a Deepfake Video?
A deepfake video is a synthetic video in which AI replaces one person's face with another's — typically inserting a real...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is a Face Swap?
A face swap is an AI technique that replaces one person's face with another in an image or video in real time or in post...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is AI-Generated Imagery?
AI-generated imagery is any visual content created by an artificial intelligence model — such as a diffusion model or GA...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is Synthetic Media?
Synthetic media is the broad category of audio, image, and video content generated or significantly manipulated by artif...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is a Diffusion Model?
A diffusion model is a type of generative AI that creates photorealistic images by iteratively refining random noise int...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is a GAN?
A GAN — generative adversarial network — is an AI architecture that pits two neural networks against each other to gener...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is AI Face Generation?
AI face generation is the use of generative AI models to create photorealistic human faces, either entirely synthetic or...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is Deepfake Detection?
Deepfake detection is the technical discipline of identifying AI-generated or AI-manipulated imagery and video. ScanEras...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is Deepfake Revenge Porn?
Deepfake revenge porn is the non-consensual creation and distribution of AI-generated intimate imagery depicting a real ...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is AI-Generated Nude Imagery?
AI-generated nude imagery is synthetic nudity created by generative AI models. When it depicts a real, identifiable indi...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is Photo Manipulation?
Photo manipulation in the NCII context refers to digitally altering — through compositing, editing software, or AI — clo...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is Morphed Imagery?
Morphed imagery in the NCII context refers to images that blend real photographs of an individual with synthetic or othe...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is AI Impersonation?
AI impersonation uses generative AI to replicate a real person's visual appearance, voice, or identity to deceive others...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is a Fake Nude?
A fake nude is any digitally created or manipulated image that appears to show a real person without clothing, where no ...
Read the guide →Deepfake & AI
What Is Nudify AI?
Nudify AI refers to a category of consumer tools that use generative AI to algorithmically 'remove' clothing from photog...
Read the guide →Legal Framework
What Is the TAKE IT DOWN Act?
The TAKE IT DOWN Act is the 2026 federal law establishing a 48-hour removal mandate for non-consensual intimate imagery,...
Read the guide →Legal Framework
What Is 47 U.S.C. § 223a?
47 U.S.C. § 223a is the section of the U.S. Code that codifies the TAKE IT DOWN Act, establishing mandatory 48-hour remo...
Read the guide →Legal Framework
What Is a Section 223a Notice?
A Section 223a notice is a formal removal demand sent to an online platform under 47 U.S.C. § 223a, triggering the platf...
Read the guide →Legal Framework
What Is a DMCA Takedown?
A DMCA takedown is a formal notice filed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act requiring a platform to remove conte...
Read the guide →Legal Framework
What Is the Right to Be Forgotten?
The right to be forgotten is a legal principle entitling individuals to have outdated, irrelevant, or harmful personal i...
Read the guide →Legal Framework
What Is GDPR Article 17?
GDPR Article 17, the right to erasure, requires EU-regulated entities to delete an individual's personal data upon reque...
Read the guide →Legal Framework
What Is a Civil Protection Order?
A civil protection order (CPO) is a court order that prohibits a named individual from specific conduct. In NCII cases, ...
Read the guide →Legal Framework
What Is Statutory Damages?
Statutory damages are a fixed amount of money that a victim is entitled to recover under a statute without needing to pr...
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What Is a Private Right of Action?
A private right of action is a statutory right for individual victims to file lawsuits in their own name, rather than de...
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What Is a Trust and Safety Report?
A trust and safety report is a voluntary content moderation submission to an online platform's internal team reporting h...
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What Is a Takedown Notice?
A takedown notice is a formal legal demand sent to an online platform or web host requesting removal of specific content...
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What Is a DMCA Designated Agent?
A DMCA designated agent is the official contact registered with the U.S. Copyright Office to receive DMCA takedown notic...
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What Is a Privacy Attorney?
A privacy attorney specializes in legal rights related to personal information, data protection, and digital privacy. Fo...
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What Is Digital Evidence?
Digital evidence in NCII cases includes any electronically stored information — screenshots, URLs, metadata, threat mess...
Read the guide →Legal Framework
Deepfake Laws by State
As of 2026, 46 U.S. states have enacted legislation specifically addressing deepfakes or non-consensual intimate imagery...
Read the guide →Legal Framework
VAWA and Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has been updated through successive reauthorizations to address technology-facilit...
Read the guide →Technical Concepts
What Is Biometric Scanning?
Biometric scanning for NCII uses facial recognition — specifically face embedding extraction and matching — to search bi...
Read the guide →Technical Concepts
What Is Facial Recognition?
Facial recognition is an AI technology that identifies or verifies the identity of a person by analyzing and comparing p...
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What Is a Face Embedding?
A face embedding is a numerical vector — typically 128 to 512 numbers — that encodes the geometric relationships between...
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What Is Reverse Image Search?
Reverse image search is a technology that identifies web pages containing an exact or visually similar copy of a query i...
Read the guide →Technical Concepts
What Is a Biometric Hash?
A biometric hash is a compact, irreversible numerical representation of biometric data — similar to a cryptographic hash...
Read the guide →Technical Concepts
What Is Image Hashing?
Image hashing creates a compact numerical fingerprint of an image that can be compared against other images to detect id...
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What Is Facial Geometry?
Facial geometry refers to the spatial measurements and proportional relationships between facial landmarks — eyes, nose,...
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What Is Image Scraping?
Image scraping is the automated collection of images from websites, social media profiles, or platforms using software b...
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What Is Content Moderation?
Content moderation is the process by which online platforms review, flag, and remove content that violates their policie...
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What Is Deepfake Detection Technology?
Deepfake detection technology refers to a range of computational tools that analyze imagery to identify synthetic or AI-...
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What Is Image Scraping for AI Training?
Image scraping for AI training is the practice of collecting vast numbers of images from the internet — often without co...
Read the guide →Platform Removal
How to Remove Images from Google
Google has a dedicated removal request tool for non-consensual intimate imagery that operates separately from the source...
Read the guide →Platform Removal
How to Remove Images from Bing
Microsoft Bing has a content removal request process for non-consensual intimate imagery accessible through Microsoft's ...
Read the guide →Platform Removal
How to Remove Images from Reddit
Reddit has specific reporting mechanisms for non-consensual intimate imagery and is a covered platform under the TAKE IT...
Read the guide →Platform Removal
How to Remove Images from Telegram
Telegram is a common distribution channel for NCII, particularly through private channels and bots. Removal involves bot...
Read the guide →Platform Removal
How to Remove Images from Pornhub
Pornhub has implemented dedicated NCII reporting mechanisms following legal pressure and now processes Section 223a remo...
Read the guide →Platform Removal
How to Remove Images from Facebook
Meta (Facebook and Instagram) has implemented dedicated NCII reporting tools including integration with StopNCII.org, wh...
Read the guide →Platform Removal
How to Report Deepfakes on Social Media
Reporting deepfakes on social media involves using each platform's NCII reporting mechanisms and submitting formal Secti...
Read the guide →Platform Removal
What Is NCMEC's Take It Down Program?
Take It Down is a program operated by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) that helps minors rem...
Read the guide →Platform Removal
What Is an OnlyFans Leak?
An OnlyFans leak is the non-consensual redistribution of content from a subscription-based platform — most commonly Only...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
What Is Cyber Harassment?
Cyber harassment is repeated, targeted online conduct designed to intimidate, embarrass, distress, or harm a specific in...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
What Is Cyberstalking?
Cyberstalking is the use of electronic communications, monitoring tools, or online platforms to persistently surveil, th...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
What Is Digital Trauma?
Digital trauma describes the psychological harm caused by technology-facilitated abuse — including NCII distribution, cy...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
What Is Online Grooming?
Online grooming is the process by which a perpetrator deliberately builds a relationship of trust, affection, or depende...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
Who Is Targeted by Deepfakes?
Deepfake non-consensual intimate imagery disproportionately targets women, teenagers, and public figures — with 99% of d...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
What to Do If Your Images Are Shared Online
If intimate images of you have been shared online without consent, take these steps immediately: document the content, p...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
How to Report Sextortion
To report sextortion: do not pay; preserve all evidence; report to the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov; report to local law enforce...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
How to Report Revenge Porn
To report revenge porn (NCII): document the content; file a Section 223a notice through ScanErase for 48-hour mandatory ...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
How to Protect Yourself from Deepfakes
Complete protection from deepfake NCII is not possible while you have any public online presence — but reducing photo ex...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
What Is Digital Privacy?
Digital privacy is the right to control what personal information about you exists online and who can access it. In the ...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
What Is a Burner Account?
A burner account is an anonymous or pseudonymous online account created with false or minimal identity information. Perp...
Read the guide →Victim Experience
How to Find Images of Yourself Online
Finding images of yourself online — including NCII — requires both standard reverse image search tools and biometric fac...
Read the guide →Statistics
Deepfake Statistics 2026
Deepfake NCII production has grown exponentially since 2020, driven by accessible consumer AI tools. In 2026, an estimat...
Read the guide →Statistics
Sextortion Statistics 2026
Sextortion is one of the fastest-growing cybercrime categories. The FBI received over 18,500 sextortion-related complain...
Read the guide →Statistics
NCII Statistics 2026
Research estimates that 1 in 12 U.S. adults has experienced some form of NCII victimization. 93% of victims report signi...
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Revenge Porn Statistics 2026
Revenge porn — NCII distributed by intimate partners or ex-partners — affects an estimated 1 in 8 women under 30 in the ...
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Deepfakes and Minors
Deepfake NCII targeting minors has emerged as a distinct and rapidly growing crisis. NCMEC received over 26,000 sextorti...
Read the guide →Statistics
Deepfakes and Celebrities
Celebrities are disproportionately targeted by deepfake NCII, accounting for an estimated 58% of all deepfake intimate c...
Read the guide →Identity & Privacy
What Is Doxxing?
Doxxing is the non-consensual publication of an individual's private personal information — home address, workplace, pho...
Read the guide →Identity & Privacy
What Is Online Identity Theft?
Online identity theft is the unauthorized appropriation and use of another person's digital identity — including their n...
Read the guide →Identity & Privacy
What Is Social Media Image Theft?
Social media image theft is the unauthorized copying and misuse of photographs from someone's social media profiles — mo...
Read the guide →Identity & Privacy
What Is Online Exploitation?
Online exploitation is a broad category of harmful conduct that uses digital platforms to exploit individuals — includin...
Read the guide →Identity & Privacy
What Is Face Recognition Privacy?
Face recognition privacy refers to the legal and ethical concerns around collecting, storing, and using biometric facial...
Read the guide →Identity & Privacy
How to Remove Yourself from the Internet
Complete removal from the internet is not possible, but systematic use of legal tools — NCII removal notices, data broke...
Read the guide →Start with a free scan
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