“It Wasn’t Me!”- Risk to Children of “Deep Fake Nudification” Online

Like many technical and industrial innovations that have gone before, it’s undoubtedly true that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be beneficial to mankind. Unfortunately, it’s equally true that its power can be utilised for evil purposes also. This is amply illustrated  by a very recent Children's Commissioner report which uncovers how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is being misused to create sexually explicit deepfake images of real people, and looks at the potential threats such "nudification" tools and technology pose to children's safety, wellbeing and participation online.

The report urges the Government to

·         ban bespoke nudifying apps that use AI to generate such images of children;

·         create specific legal responsibilities for companies GenAI developers GenAI to screen their tools for nudifying risks to children;

·          establish effective systems to remove sexually explicit deepfake images from the internet

·         recognise deepfake sexual abuse as a form of violence against women and girls.

The report  also highlights a number of interim actions that policy makers should take to protect children ahead of the development of new legislation, including: full enforcement of the Online Safety Act by OFCOM, ensuring that the safety duties held by Part 5 services are fulfilled effectively.(The Act has a standalone section (part 5 ) which places duties on “providers” of pornographic content to introduce age assurance measures to prevent children from accessing that content); strengthening the Children's Code to ensure its risk assessment process is proactive against emerging harms; and support for children to report intimate images, including false ones that have been created using AI, that have been shared in a public online space.

Legislation referred

Online Safety Act 2023 (c.50)

Related links https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/resource/children-nudification-tools-and-sexually-explicit-deepfakes

https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/news-and-blogs/press-notice-childrens-commissioner-calls-for-immediate-ban-of-ai-apps-that-enable-deepfake-sexual-abuse-of-children

Forbes Comment.

This is surely one area where even those reluctant to curb the “freedom” of social media providers would agree that action must be taken to protect our children from such heinous manipulation. The actions called for by the Children’s Commissioner need to be implemented without delay if this new and insidious form of child abuse is to be stopped in its tracks.