In recent months, an alarming incident involving deepfake pornographic images of minors has highlighted the need for new laws to address this disturbing technological phenomenon.
The Case That Sparked Change
In November 2022, a male student at Issaquah High School in Washington State used web-based AI applications to generate explicit fake pornographic images of his underage female classmates. He then circulated these photographs around the school.
When three concerned parents separately contacted the police, investigators were surprised administrators had not also reported the incident, given the images constituted sexual abuse material.
Police intended to charge the student with cyber harassment, but local prosecutors declined, as deepfake pornography represents a gray area under current state law.
This case exposed a glaring gap in the legal system’s ability to address the growing issue of deepfakes.
How Deepfake Technology Is Enabling Abuse
Deepfake technology uses artificial intelligence to digitally impose an individual’s likeness onto photos or videos. New apps make it disturbingly easy to generate realistic fake nude images with only a single photo of a person.
When applied to child subjects without consent, deepfakes essentially constitute high-tech child sexual abuse material. But in many regions, laws have not caught up to regulate these images.
Lawmakers Rushing to Pass New Legislation
In response to this case, Washington legislators are rapidly pushing a new bipartisan bill to make it illegal to create or distribute deepfake pornography without consent.
The proposed law would create a specific criminal offense for “distributing fabricated intimate images”, enabling victims to sue creators of fake pornographic content featuring themselves.
While debates continue around issues of freedom of speech, lawmakers agree protections are urgently needed for child subjects of deepfakes. This case has sparked momentum to enact regulations before more students are exploited.
Ongoing Challenges in the Legal System
Unfortunately, deepfake technology is evolving faster than efforts to regulate it. Lawmakers face difficulty crafting legislation broad enough to encompass future technological capabilities.
But this troubling case has brought much-needed awareness to the current lack of recourse for victims. It will likely spur more initiatives to close gaps in the legal system’s ability to address deepfakes and punish those who abuse this technology.