The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, took Anthony Rotondo to court in 2023 after he replied to a removal notice, saying it meant nothing to him as he was not an Australian resident. The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, took Anthony Rotondo to court in 2023 after he replied to a removal notice, saying it meant nothing to him as he was not an Australian resident. Watchdog applauds'strong message' after federal court orders Gold Coast man Anthony Rotondo to pay for posting deepfake images to a now-defunct website Fri 26 Sep 2025 06.02 EDTLast modified on Fri 26 Sep 2025 06.21 EDT 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,

The online safety regulator wants a 450,000 maximum penalty imposed on a man who posted deepfake images of prominent Australian women to a website, in the first case of its kind heard in an Australian court. The eSafety commissioner has launched proceedings against Anthony Rotondo over his failure to remove "intimate images" of several prominent Australian women from a deepfake pornography website. The federal court has kept the names of the women confidential. Rotondo initially refused to comply with the order while he was based in the Philippines, the court heard, but the commissioner launched the case once he returned to Australia. Rotondo posted the images to the MrDeepFakes website, which has since been shut down.