Scam alert · October 11, 2026
An Explicit Image of Your Child Is Online. What Do You Do First?
If an explicit image or AI deepfake of your child is shared online, these calm first steps can help report it, request removal, and limit its spread.
Read this in five minutes. Then talk about it with someone you care about.
A child tells you that someone has an explicit image of them. Maybe the image is real. Maybe it was altered or created with AI. Someone may be threatening to share it, or it may already be online.
Your first response matters.
Before asking how it happened, tell your child: “You are not in trouble. I am glad you told me. We will handle this together.”
On October 7, the Federal Trade Commission published new guidance for parents facing this exact crisis. The FTC emphasized that possessing or sharing explicit images of children can be a serious crime, including when the image is an AI-generated deepfake. Its guidance gives families three jobs: report the person responsible, request removal from the platform, and take steps to limit further sharing.
The goal is not to investigate the situation alone. It is to preserve your child's connection to a safe adult while getting qualified help quickly.
Why children stay silent
A person threatening a child may use fear, shame, urgency, and isolation. They may claim the image will be sent to classmates or family unless the child pays money, sends more images, or keeps responding.
The child may believe telling a parent will lead to punishment, loss of a phone, or disappointment. If the image is fake, they may fear nobody will believe that. If it is real, they may think one decision means they caused everything that followed.
It does not. The person exploiting or threatening the child is responsible for the abuse.
That is why the first family rule is more important than any privacy setting: asking for help will not get you in trouble. A child who believes that rule is harder to isolate.
The first steps
If an image has been shared or someone is making threats:
- Stop direct contact. Do not pay, send another image, or provide identification. The FBI warns that payment or continued cooperation does not reliably prevent distribution and often leads to more demands.
- Preserve the surrounding evidence. Save usernames, profile links, messages, demands, dates, payment instructions, and the page address where the content appeared. Follow law-enforcement guidance about handling the image itself.
- Report the person. Contact local police. Submit a report to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org or call 1-800-THE-LOST. The FTC also recommends contacting the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or through a local field office.
- Request removal from the platform. Use the platform's reporting option, often found in a menu near the post, or follow instructions in its help center. Under the Take It Down Act, covered platforms must provide a process for removal requests involving explicit images of a child.
- Escalate if the platform does not act. The FTC says that if a covered platform does not remove the image within 48 hours, report the platform at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.
If anyone is in immediate danger, contact emergency services.
Help limit further sharing
NCMEC's free Take It Down service can create a digital fingerprint, called a hash, of an explicit image or video taken when the person shown was under 18. Participating public or unencrypted platforms can use that fingerprint to detect matching copies and take action to limit their spread.
The image stays on the device while the fingerprint is created; it is not uploaded to NCMEC. The service can be used anonymously and is available internationally.
There is one crucial instruction: do not download, forward, or ask someone to send an explicit image just to submit it. Use Take It Down only when the image is already on the device. If it is not, make a CyberTipline report and ask for help.
Take It Down cannot guarantee removal everywhere. It works with participating platforms and does not scan encrypted services. It is one part of the response, not a replacement for reporting the perpetrator and the platform.
The family defense to practice now
Do not wait for a crisis to explain the rule. Say this tonight:
“If anyone asks for a private picture, threatens you with one, or posts a fake one, come to me. You will not lose my love, and you will not face it alone.”
Avoid turning the conversation into a lecture about permanent mistakes. The useful lesson is that manipulation can happen quickly and help remains available afterward.
Parents should also know the warning signs: sudden panic around a device, repeated payment requests, deleting accounts without explanation, withdrawing from friends, or intense fear about an image being shared. These signs do not prove sextortion, but they are reasons to open a calm conversation.
Talk about it tonight
Ask: “If someone online threatened you or a friend with a private image, which adult would you tell first?”
Let your child name more than one person. Put the choices in the phone now.
If a suspicious account is pressuring your child and you need help organizing the warning signs, you can describe the contact in The Scam Hotline Scam Detector. Never upload an intimate image or enter a child's identifying information. For threats or shared images, use the official reporting and removal resources above first.
Scammers want silence. Families talk. Talk to yours today.