Deepfake Porn: It Impacts More People Than Just Taylor Swift

By: Brenna Harman

 

What is a Deepfake and what is Deepfake Porn?

A deepfake is a fake or doctored image generated by a kind of machine learning known as “deep” learning.[1] The machine is fed algorithms and then learns how to produce an output that resembles the images or examples it learned from.[2] Sometimes harmless, this AI can be used to “age yourself,” face swap with your friend, and more.[3] Despite the fun, deep learning can be used to create images that humans are unable to identify as being fake at all.[4] With the majority of people getting information and formulating their opinions from content on the internet, deepfakes can release misinformation and influence the masses.[5] On the micro-scale, deepfakers can target specific individuals with personalized pictures and videos.[6]

Deepfake has now been used to create AI-generated pornographic photos and videos.[7] The technology can use algorithms that are trained to remove clothing from images and replace it with naked body parts.[8] While these algorithms could “strip” men, they are typically focused on images of women.[9] Sometimes deepfake porn is purely for lewd purposes, but other times it is intended to harass, extort, and embarrass victims.[10]

 

Who Does It Impact?

Just last week, sexually explicit, deepfake images of Taylor Swift went viral on X.[11] Although the social media platform quickly worked to block searches of the nonconsensual deepfake photos, her fanbase immediately reacted.[12] The attention Taylor Swift received cast light on the broader issue of deepfake porn and the impact it has on women and girls.[13] While high-profile celebrities make up the bulk of deepfake porn images, regular women and children are now just as likely to be targeted.[14]

“Since this technology has become more widely available, 90-95% of deepfake videos are now nonconsensual pornographic videos and, of those videos, 90% target women — mostly underage.”[15]  All a perpetrator needs is an innocent photo from social media and they can turn it into an explicit image that looks just like the victim.[16] The problem is believed to be regularly affecting millions of teenage girls.[17]

 

What Can the Law Do About It?

A large issue is the lack of federal laws to prevent the images from being spread, as there are no prohibitions on either the creation or dissemination of nonconsensual deepfake porn.[18] After the wake of images targeting Taylor Swift, bipartisan lawmakers introduced The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits, or DEFIANCE, Act.[19] This Act would allow victims to sue “if those who created the deepfakes knew, or ‘recklessly disregarded’ that the victim did not consent to its making.”[20] The DEFIANCE Act would be the first federal law to protect deepfake victims.[21]

A bill was previously introduced that would criminalize “the spread of nonconsensual, sexualized images generated by artificial intelligence.”[22] If passed, the law would allow victims to seek a civil penalty against whoever produced the “digital forgeries” or anyone who received the forgeries knowing they were made without consent.[23] There has been no action taken on the bill since its introduction, but recent polling showed that 84% of Americans are in support of federal action.[24]

Several states have passed legislation, but the strength and application vary, with some state laws requiring an “illicit motive”.[25] The requirement of this motive puts a higher burden on victims to prove their case.[26] Even laws against revenge pornography do not cover porn created by deepfake technology.[27]

 

Conclusion

The accessibility of AI enables perpetrators to sexually exploit with the click of a button.[28] Deepfake porn is putting millions of young girls at risk and there are few protections currently in place.[29] Federal legislation needs to be enacted in order to protect one of the most vulnerable classes of citizens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image Source: https://nypost.com/2024/02/02/news/teen-girls-turned-into-deepfake-porn-like-taylor-swift/

[1] What the heck is a deepfake?, Univ. of Va., https://security.virginia.edu/deepfakes (last visited Feb. 3, 2024).

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] supra note 1.

[7] Bill Chappell, Deepfakes exploiting Taylor Swift Images exemplify a scourge with little oversight, NPR (Jan. 26, 2024, 6:01 PM), https://www.npr.org/2024/01/26/1227091070/deepfakes-taylor-swift-images-regulation.

[8] Sophie Maddocks, What is deepfake porn and why is it thriving in the age of AI? PennToday (July 25, 2023), https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/what-deepfake-porn-and-why-it-thriving-age-ai.

[9] Id.

[10] Sion Geschwindt, Taylor Swift deepfake porn deluge a ‘wake-up call’ for lawmakers, TNW (Feb. 1, 2024, 3:39 PM), https://thenextweb.com/news/taylor-swift-deepfake-porn.

[11] Melissa Heikkila, Three ways we can fight deepfake porn, MIT Tech. Rev. (Jan. 29, 2024), https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/01/29/1087325/three-ways-we-can-fight-deepfake-porn-taylors-version//.

[12] Id.; Ian Krietzberg, Deepfake porn: It’s not just about Taylor Swift, Jackson Progress-Argus (Feb. 3, 2024), https://www.jacksonprogress-argus.com/arena/thestreet/deepfake-porn-its-not-just-about-taylor-swift/article_71576e96-f9cb-53dd-a4b9-f467afb7e577.html.

[13] Krietzberg, supra note 12; Heikkila, supra note 11.

[14] Geschwindt, supra note 10.

[15] Caroline Quirk, The High Stakes of Deepfakes: The Growing Necessity of Federal Legislation to Regulate This Rapidly Evolving Technology, Princeton Legal J. (June 19, 2023), https://legaljournal.princeton.edu/the-high-stakes-of-deepfakes-the-growing-necessity-of-federal-legislation-to-regulate-this-rapidly-evolving-technology/.

[16] Rikki Schlott, It’s not just Taylor Swift ‘nudes’: Millions of teen girls victimized as classmates turn them into deepfake porn, N.Y. Post (Feb. 2, 2024, 5:00 AM), https://nypost.com/2024/02/02/news/teen-girls-turned-into-deepfake-porn-like-taylor-swift/.

[17] Id.

[18] Krietzberg, supra note 12.

[19] Solcyre Burga, How a New Bill Could Protect Against Deepfakes, TIME (Jan. 31, 2024, 4:34 PM), https://time.com/6590711/deepfake-protection-federal-bill/.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Blake Montgomery, Taylor Swift AI images prompt US bill to tackle nonconsensual, sexual deepfakes, The Guardian (Jan. 30, 2024, 8:58 PM), https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/30/taylor-swift-ai-deepfake-nonconsensual-sexual-images-bill; Burga, supra note 19.

[23] Montgomery, supra note 22.

[24] Burga, supra note 19.

[25] Krietzberg, supra note 12; Elliot Davis Jr., These States Have Banned the Type of Deepfakes That Targeted Taylor Swift, U.S. News (Jan. 30, 2024), https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2024-01-30/these-states-have-banned-the-type-of-deepfake-porn-that-targeted-taylor-swift.

[26] Davis, supra note 25.

[27] Krietzberg, supra note 12.

[28] Eileen Sullivan, Law Enforcement Braces for Flood of Child Sex Abuse Images Generated by A.I., The N.Y. Times (Jan. 30, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/30/us/politics/ai-child-sex-abuse.html.

[29] Id.