Kaitlyn Siragusa, also known as Amouranth, has expressed her frustration with the proliferation of deepfake pornography featuring her likeness on Google. Siragusa has a Twitch channel where fans can watch her play video games for a monthly subscription fee, as well as an OnlyFans page for explicit adult content. However, deepfake videos of her engaging in sexual acts are being circulated on the internet without her consent.
Deepfakes are videos produced with artificial intelligence that use a real person’s face to create a realistic simulation of that person engaging in explicit acts. The creation of deepfake porn has seen a surge in recent years, with the number of videos increasing ninefold since 2019, according to researcher Genevieve Oh. These videos, which have received a total of 3.8 billion views, appear on various websites and feature the faces of both celebrities and ordinary women.
Major tech companies such as Google, Amazon, X (formerly known as Twitter), Cloudflare, and Microsoft provide platforms and services that support the deepfake industry. Despite the harm caused by nonconsensual deepfake porn, there are currently no federal laws in the US that criminalize its creation or sharing. Only 13 states have passed legislation targeting such content, resulting in a patchwork of civil and criminal statutes.
In response, tech policy lawyers, academics, and victims of deepfake pornography are calling on these companies to take responsibility for the harm caused by deepfakes and remove such content from their platforms. They argue that search engines like Google should be more diligent in curbing the spread of deepfakes and that social media networks like X should enforce policies prohibiting synthetic and manipulated media.
Deepfake websites also rely on web hosting services provided by companies like Cloudflare and Amazon. Advocates hope that pressuring these companies to stop hosting deepfake sites and tools may lead to positive changes.
Technological advancements have made it easier to create deepfakes, and tools like Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion model allow for the generation of photorealistic face-swapping images. However, open-source models can be misused for creating deeply inappropriate content. The makers of such tools are urged to take responsibility and disallow the use of their products for deepfake pornography.
In conclusion, the growing threat of deepfake pornography has prompted calls for tech companies to take action. Victims like Kaitlyn Siragusa are advocating for stricter regulations and stronger enforcement to protect individuals from the harm caused by nonconsensual deepfake porn.
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
