ST. PAUL, Minn. Molly Kelly was stunned to discover in June that someone she knew had used widely available nudification technology to create highly realistic and sexually explicit videos and images of her, using family photos that were posted on social media.
My initial shock turned to horror when I learned that the same person targeted about 80, 85 other women, most of whom live in Minnesota, some of whom I know personally, and all of them had connections in some way to the offender, Kelly said.
Backed by her testimony, Minnesota is considering a new strategy for cracking down on deepfake pornography. A bill that has bipartisan support would target companies that run websites and apps allowing people to upload a photo that then would be transformed into explicit images or videos.
States across the country and Congress are considering strategies for regulating artificial intelligence. Most have banned the dissemination of sexually explicit deepfakes or revenge porn whether they were produced with AI or not. The idea behind the Minnesota legislation is to prevent the material from ever being created before it spreads online.
Experts on AI law caution the proposal might be unconstitutional on free speech grounds.
The lead author, Democratic Sen. Erin Maye Quade, said additional restrictions are necessary because AI technology has advanced so rapidly. Her bill would require the operators of nudification sites and apps to turn them off to people in Minnesota or face civil penalties up to $500,000 for each unlawful access, download, or use. Developers would need to figure out how to turn off the function for Minnesota users.
Its not just the dissemination thats harmful to victims, she said. Its the fact that these images exist at all.
Kelly told reporters last month that anyone can quickly create hyper-realistic nude images or pornographic video in minutes.
Most law enforcement attention so far has been focused on distribution and possession.
San Francisco in August filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against several widely visited nudification websites, alleging they broke state laws against fraudulent business practices, nonconsensual pornography and the sexual abuse of children. That case remains pending.
The U.S. Senate last month unanimously approved a bill by Democrat Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, and Republican Ted Cruz, of Texas, to make it a federal crime to publish nonconsensual sexual imagery, including AI-generated deepfakes. Social media platforms would be required to remove them within 48 hours of notice from a victim. Melania Trump on Monday used her first solo appearance since becoming first lady again to urge passage by the Republican-controlled House, where it’s pending.
The Kansas House last month approved a bill that expands the definition of illegal sexual exploitation of a child to include possession of images generated with AI if they’re indistinguishable from a real child, morphed from a real childs image or generated without any actual child involvement.
Leave a Reply