So, how many of you know about ‘deepfake’ porn? Don’t feel bad, because I didn’t either until I read about this article. At least one state is fighting this evil. Virginia fights ‘deepfake’ porn.
So deepfake porn uses machine learning to take a photo and strip a woman of her clothes. For instance, a couple has an innocent photo. Then the couple breaks up. The guy manipulates this innocent photo and makes her nude. Then he blasts it all over the Internet. That’s deepfake porn. In fact, they had an app that’s totally dedicated to this thing. The former app DeepNude could turn any photo of any clothed person into a nude photo. Thankfully, due to public outrage, the owner of DeepNude took down this app, and it is no more.
So now, Virginia fights ‘deepfake’ porn. Effective July 1, 2019, it is illegal to share these kinds of nude photos without the person’s permission or approval. This includes all kinds of nude photos, whether real or altered. Virginia had a tough stance of revenge porn since 2014. But because ‘deepfake’ porn was new, but rising at an alarming rates, it took a while before lawmakers caught on. But thank goodness they are. Other states, and nations are catching on. In New York, there are debating laws making this kind of revenge porn a crime. In other nations, like United Kingdom, are passing laws giving deepfake porn victims the right to sue.
So what do we do to combat the evil of deepfake porn? We’re already doing it. People are raising awareness and are letting people know such perverted behavior is not tolerated. Look at the righteous outrage that eventually took DeepNude down. That’s a huge start. I think we as a public need to keep the pressure on. Deepfake porn give IT support, and society in general, deep scars that may never be healed. What can you do to fight deepfake porn?