{"id":2165720,"date":"2024-02-02T03:36:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T08:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/will-the-taylor-swift-deepfake-scandal-force-congress-to-get-serious-about-ai-pornography\/"},"modified":"2024-02-02T03:43:58","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T08:43:58","slug":"will-the-taylor-swift-deepfake-scandal-force-congress-to-get-serious-about-ai-pornography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/will-the-taylor-swift-deepfake-scandal-force-congress-to-get-serious-about-ai-pornography\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Taylor Swift&#8217;s Deepfake Scandal Prompt Congress to Address AI Porn"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwill-the-taylor-swift-deepfake-scandal-force-congress-to-get-serious-about-ai-pornography%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2165720&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>Deepfake Pornography: A Growing Threat<\/h2>\n<p>Last\u200b week, sexually explicit AI-generated images of Taylor Swift were circulated on\u2062 X. The post garnered \u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2024\/1\/25\/24050334\/x-twitter-taylor-swift-ai-fake-images-trending\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tens of millions of views<\/a>,\u200b with commentators reveling in the demeaning spectacle. While the photo was eventually taken down, fake pornographic \u2064images of the \u2064singer circulated across \u200cother\u2062 websites \u2063like Reddit,\u200b Instagram, Facebook, and other darker corners of the internet.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-13006645\/taylor-swift-furious-ai-pictures-porn-legal-action.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Daily Mail<\/a>, \u200bTaylor Swift\u200c is \u200cfurious and considering \u200dwhether to sue the deepfake \u200dporn site\u2062 \u2014 known as Celeb Jihad \u200d\u2014 which published the image and others like\u200d it.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>A source close to Swift told The \u200cDaily Mail, \u201cWhether or not\u2063 legal action will be taken is being decided but there is one thing that \u2062is clear: these fake AI generated images\u2063 are abusive, offensive, \u2063exploitative, and done without\u2063 Taylor\u2019s consent and\/or knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But Swift is hardly the only victim of \u201cdeepfake\u201d\u2063 \u2014 media that has\u200b been\u2063 digitally altered to replace one person\u2019s likeness with that of another \u2014 \u200bpornography generated by artificial intelligence. For years \u200dnow, it \u2062has been\u2064 weaponized\u200b against women and children.<\/p>\n<p>As \u2064loyal Swift fans furiously rushed to report the images and accounts posting them, reports emerged of \u200ca 14-year-old \u200dLondon girl <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12997421\/mia-janin-took-life-bullying-fake-nude-photos-snapchat.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">who took her own life<\/a> \u2063after boys at her school created and\u2064 circulated fake pornographic images of her and her fellow \u200dclassmates. Last year,\u2062 boys\u2063 at \u2062a New Jersey high school\u200c also \u2064created \u2064and shared AI-generated pornography of more than 30 of\u200d their\u2064 female classmates. Last spring,\u2062 a Twitch influencer was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/steven-asarch\/twitch-streamers-atrioc-deepfake-porn-sweet-anita\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">caught<\/a> watching deepfake\u200d porn of his female colleagues. One of the victims <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeednews.com\/article\/steven-asarch\/twitch-streamers-atrioc-deepfake-porn-sweet-anita\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> BuzzFeedNews, \u201cI saw myself in positions I\u200c would never agree to, doing things\u200d I would never want to do. And\u200d it was quite horrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence technology, all someone needs to generate\u200c a convincing \u2063deepfake\u200b video are several photos of their victim and access to Wi-Fi. While some men have been victims\u200c of deepfakes, \u200ddeepfake pornography \u200cmainly targets women and \u200byoung girls. A\u2063 2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/regmedia.co.uk\/2019\/10\/08\/deepfake_report.pdf?bcs-agent-scanner=a22cd3ba-a214-ee47-b390-6dd87b288789\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> \u2063by Deeptrace found that nonconsensual AI-produced pornography \u200caccounted for 96 percent of \u2064all deepfake \u2063content online and that this content\u2064 solely targeted women. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyprogress.com\/news\/nation-world\/government-politics\/bob-good-asks-doj-for-plan-to-address-ai-generated-child-porn\/article_5b0bbe7e-5bb1-11ee-8bdb-db5e7ac4096c.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> to the Department\u200c of\u200b Justice sent last year, Congressman Bob Good\u2062 alerted the DOJ \u2062to reports of AI being used to \u201cgenerate\u2062 obscene, personalized images of minors under the age of 18.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The \u200bWashington Post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2023\/06\/19\/artificial-intelligence-child-sex-abuse-images\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> that 80 percent\u2064 of respondents in a poll conducted on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rep-good-wants-ban-on-using-ai-to-generate-child-sexual-abuse-materials\/\" title=\"Rep. Good seeks to prohibit the use of AI in creating child sexual abuse materials.\">dark-web forum<\/a> said they had used\u200d or intended to use \u200dAI\u2062 to create child sexual abuse materials.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>While\u2064 nine states have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2023-06-20\/deepfake-porn-political-ads-push-states-to-curb-rampant-ai-use\">laws<\/a> \u2062 against the creation or sharing of nonconsensual deepfake imagery, nothing exists \u2064at the federal \u200dlevel. In fact, there are no federal laws on \u200cthe\u200b books \u200bregulating\u2063 AI,\u2062 despite \u200ba <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/our-work\/research-reports\/artificial-intelligence-legislation-tracker\">gamut<\/a> of\u2062 legislation currently languishing in committee.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, Democrat \u2063New York Rep. Joe Morelle \u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/morelle.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/congressman-joe-morelle-takes-action-end-ai-generated-deepfake-pornography\">introduced<\/a> the \u2062Preventing of Deepfakes of Intimate Images \u200dAct, a bill meant to\u2062 stop\u2062 the dissemination and proliferation of \u200bdeepfake pornography. Perhaps the \u200brecent Taylor Swift controversy (much \u2064like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/01\/24\/tech\/ticketmaster-hearing-taylor-swift\/index.html\">Ticketmaster-gate<\/a> of yesteryear)\u2063 will generate enough political pressure to bring this bill to\u200b the House floor.<\/p>\n<p>But some\u2063 experts don\u2019t think \u2063a deepfake\u2064 prohibition will \u2063be enough.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe need a\u200c change to Section 230,\u201d said Jon Schweppe,\u2064 policy director at American Principles Project.\u2062 \u201cPornography as a \u200dwhole should not\u200d have\u2064 any \u200bsort of immunity from civil\u200d liability \u200bgranted by the federal government. With reforming\u2064 Section 230, you could\u2062 add an amendment that\u2019s specific to AI-generated\u200c content or deepfakes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Reforming Section 230 of the Communications\u2064 Decency Act, which shields internet\u2063 platforms from liability for what \u200cusers post, has long \u200dbeen an aspiration for conservatives. Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook benefit from Section 230\u2019s protections by not \u200cbeing liable every \u2064time a user publishes illegal content. But the same \u200dis true for\u200d the \u200dporn industry, as much of the \u200ccontent uploaded to their sites is unlawful, such as child pornography, revenge porn, or nonconsensual pornography.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAI companies have no responsibility whatsoever because they can just say, well, the user \u2064of the AI created it,\u201d Schweppe said. \u201cYou\u2019re just going to\u200c have to impose\u200b mass liability on these companies to try to slow \u200cthis stuff down because right now the AI companies are \u2063just fine. Like, it doesn\u2019t bother them. It doesn\u2019t affect \u200bthem at all. \u2063And\u2063 it\u2019s almost impossible to track\u200b down \u200bthe initial person who created and spread\u2063 that \u200bclip for \u200ddefamation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another\u200c potential solution is \u200dage-verification laws\u2063 or \u200csimilar\u200c laws \u2063that hold porn websites liable unless their users\u200d upload government-issued IDs proving they\u2064 are 18 years of age or \u200colder. Eight states\u2063 have already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-have-to-stop-letting-the-porn-industry-hide-behind-free-speech\/\" title=\"Stop allowing the porn industry to use 'free speech' as a shield.\">passed age-verification laws<\/a>, with more to come in 2024, according to\u2062 Schweppe. And instead\u2064 of complying\u2063 with the requirement, Pornhub has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2023\/08\/08\/age-law-online-porn-00110148\">ceased\u200d operations<\/a> in several \u200cof the states.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Greg Steube, \u200da \u2062Florida Republican, has a similar <a href=\"https:\/\/steube.house.gov\/press-releases\/steube-reintroduces-case-it-act-to-hold-big-tech-accountable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">idea<\/a> for combating underage pornography that could also apply to deepfakes: remove \u200bSection 230\u2064 protections from \u2062porn sites that are unable \u200bto verify whether their content \u2062features minors. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has \u200ba parallel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lee.senate.gov\/2022\/9\/lee-bill-protects-victims-of-image-based-sexual-abuse\/49fa886b-86ec-45d7-9504-5315d7f83f33\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proposal<\/a>, although it does not involve Section 230.<\/p>\n<p>Schweppe says such a move\u200b could\u2064 have \u200da chilling effect on generative deepfake pornography targeting\u200b minors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s another route \u2063for telling sites you can\u2019t have this\u2063 content, and then hopefully, we\u2019ll see less,\u201d \u2064he said.<\/p>\n<p>Washington has a tendency to ignore problems harming the little guy. But \u200dnow that someone with power and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/politics\/joe-bidens-taylor-swift-strategy-could-have-tremendous-impact-in-his-campaign\/ar-BB1hrMmO\">influence<\/a> \u2063 has been affected, \u2062it\u2019s increasingly likely politicians will get serious about \u2062combating such harmful technology.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> \u2064What \u200dare some potential technological solutions to\u2063 combat deepfake pornography?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Their\u2064 pocketbook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While \u2063the proliferation of\u200d deepfake pornography is a disturbing trend, \u2064there are potential solutions to combat this growing\u2063 threat. One approach is the development of\u200d advanced technologies that\u200c can detect and remove deepfake\u200b content from online platforms. Companies such as Microsoft and Facebook have already begun investing in AI-powered tools to identify and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taylor-swift-fans-duped-by-ai-generated-ads-using-pop-stars-likeness-in-fake-cookware-giveaway\/\" title=\"Taylor Swift fans tricked by AI-generated ads featuring the singer's image in a phony cookware giveaway\">remove deepfake videos<\/a> and images.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, legislation that specifically targets deepfake\u200b pornography\u2063 can provide a means of legal recourse for victims. The Preventing of Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act introduced by Rep. Joe Morelle is a step in the right direction. By criminalizing the creation and dissemination of nonconsensual deepfake pornography, \u2062this bill aims to protect \u200dindividuals \u200dfrom this form of abuse.\u2062 However, it is crucial that any legislation also addresses the role of AI companies\u2062 and \u2062internet platforms in enabling \u200dthe spread of deepfake content.<\/p>\n<p>Reforming Section 230\u200d of the Communications Decency \u200dAct\u200c could \u2064be\u200c another effective measure. \u200bBy holding\u2062 internet \u2062platforms accountable for the content they host, regardless \u200bof its origin, it becomes\u200d harder\u2064 for deepfake pornography \u200bto thrive. This reform would require companies\u200d to actively monitor \u200band remove illegal \u2063or \u200cnonconsensual content, making platforms safer for users and reducing the dissemination of deepfakes.<\/p>\n<p>Education and awareness are also key \u200bin combating deepfake pornography. By educating individuals \u200dabout \u2064the existence and potential dangers of deepfakes, they can be better \u2062equipped\u2063 to identify and report suspicious content.\u2064 Moreover, raising awareness\u2062 about the ethical implications and harmful impact of deepfake \u2064pornography can help foster a collective responsibility to reject\u200d and combat \u200dthis form of\u2062 exploitation.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, addressing\u2064 the\u200b issue of deepfake pornography requires a \u2062multi-faceted approach. It necessitates technological advancements, legislative action, corporate responsibility, \u200band societal \u2062awareness. Only through a combination \u2063of\u2064 these efforts can we effectively protect individuals, particularly women and children, from \u2064the harmful effects of deepfake pornography.<\/p>\n<p>The recent incident involving Taylor Swift serves as a stark reminder\u200b of the\u200c urgent need to address the growing threat of deepfake pornography. As technology continues to advance, \u2063it is crucial that\u2062 our \u2063laws, \u200bpolicies, and societal norms \u2062evolve to ensure the safety and well-being of individuals in an increasingly digital world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Internet, perpetuating the objectification and harassment of Taylor Swift. Despite efforts to remove the content, the disturbing images continued to spread, highlighting the urgent need for stricter regulations and better protection against the misuse of AI technology in order to safeguard individuals from such malicious acts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1130,"featured_media":2165721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Taylor-Swift.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2165720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Taylor-Swift.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2165720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2165721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2165720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2165720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2165720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}