- Details of the Lawsuit
- Reaction and Consequences
- Other Cases and Implications
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu has announced that his office is litigating 16 websites that use artificial intelligence (AI) to develop and distribute illegal deepfake nude images of women and girls.
Details of the Lawsuit
This lawsuit, the first of its kind in San Francisco, accuses the website operators of violating state and federal laws that denounce deepfake pornography, child pornography, and revenge pornographic material, as well as California’s unfair competition law. The initiative was spearheaded by Chief Deputy Attorney Yvonne Mere, who rallied her colleagues to draft a lawsuit aimed at shutting down the 16 websites. The names of the websites were redacted in the publicly available copy of the lawsuit.
Reaction and Consequences
During a press conference, Chiu stated that the websites produce pornographic materials without the consent of the individuals in the photos. He emphasized that the lawsuit seeks to raise awareness about this form of 'sexual abuse' and put an end to it. Chiu noted: 'This investigation has taken us to the darkest corners of the internet, and I am absolutely horrified for the women and girls who have had to endure this exploitation.' The lawsuit indicates that one of the websites promotes the non-consensual nature of the images, with statements like 'Imagine wasting time taking her out on dates, when you can just use [redacted website name] to get her nudes.'
Other Cases and Implications
In January, deepfake apps made headlines when fake nude photos of Taylor Swift went viral. Many less known individuals have also been persecuted before and after her. Attorney Chiu admitted that the 'proliferation of these images has exploited a shocking number of women and girls across the globe,' from celebrities to middle school students. The San Francisco City Attorney’s office discovered that the websites had over 200 million visits in the first six months of this year. Earlier this year, five eighth-graders in Beverly Hills were expelled for creating and sharing deepfake nude images of 16 eighth-grade girls. The Attorney’s office observed similar incidents in other schools in California, New Jersey, and Washington.
The San Francisco City Attorney's office continues to investigate cases of exploitation via deepfake images and expresses confidence that the culprits will be held accountable.
