Recently, various social media (SNS) are filled with posts expressing one's individuality. However, the number of ‘deepfakes’, which abuse these photos and alter them into sexual content, is also increasing.
Daily newspaper The Sun reported on the 15th (local time) that the British government plans to define and punish such deepfakes as crimes.
Deepfake is a human image synthesis technology based on artificial intelligence (AI). According to the media, most victims are women, and one study estimates that deepfake crimes have increased by about 550% in the past five years.
Britain's Channel 4 reported in March that it analyzed the five most visited deepfake pornography websites and found that the faces of about 4,000 celebrities, including actors, TV stars, singers, and YouTubers, were composited into pornography. In three months, the number of views on these five websites reached 100 million.
Previously, on April 16, the British Ministry of Justice announced that it plans to punish those who create pornography using deepfakes, regardless of whether they are shared or distributed. In other words, anyone who creates sexual deepfake photos or videos without the person's consent can be charged with criminal charges and receive a fine with no upper limit.
Even if the creator did not intend to share it, he or she is subject to punishment, and if such deepfake material is distributed to the outside world, the creator can be punished with imprisonment.
Two major deepfake porn sites have reportedly begun blocking access in the UK, days after announcing their intention to make deepfakes a crime in the UK.