San Francisco Takes Legal Action Against Websites Producing AI Deepfake Nudes of Women and Girls
San Francisco takes legal action against websites that create AI deepfake nudes. The lawsuit targets entities in several areas for breaking state laws. Efforts to identify the operators behind deepfake apps are intensifying.
Despite this, the AI program used to make these malicious deepfakes is still widely accessible online, offering to undress any uploaded photo in seconds.
In a pioneering move, San Francisco has filed a lawsuit seeking to shut down such apps. City Attorney David Chiu used these photographs to emphasise the global exploitation of women and girls, which has serious implications such as reputational damage, mental health concerns, loss of autonomy, and even suicidal impulses.
The action targets websites affiliated with businesses in California, New Mexico, Estonia, Serbia, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, alleging violations of state laws prohibiting fraudulent acts, nonconsensual pornography, and child sexual abuse. However, identifying the operators of these apps is difficult because they are not available in app stores but may be easily found online.
Chiu indicated determination to discover the operators' names using investigative techniques and subpoena authority. These technologies are mostly used to make convincing deepfakes of adult women, including celebrities, without their knowledge. Instances have appeared in schools around the world, with male pupils frequently making and sharing photographs of their female counterparts on social media.
Dr. Miriam Al Adib Mendiri, a Spanish physician, praised San Francisco's measures but emphasised the importance of larger efforts from digital giants such as Meta Platforms and WhatsApp. These corporations play a part in the dissemination of such content and should accept responsibility for countering it.
While schools and law enforcement organisations work to identify those who create and share deepfakes, the problem is controlling the technologies themselves. The European Union's executive branch acknowledged the challenge of enforcing restrictions to such apps due to their magnitude.
San Francisco's lawsuit is being closely studied by organisations combating child sexual exploitation, as it has the potential to set judicial precedents in this area. Despite experiencing challenges due to defendants' locations outside the United States, the city hopes to shut down these sites by getting orders affecting domain-name registrars, web hosts, and payment processors.
San Francisco takes legal action against websites producing AI deepfake nudes
Lawsuit targets entities in various locations for violating state laws
Efforts to uncover operators behind deepfake apps intensify
Source: AP NEWS