How Big Tech is approaching explicit, nonconsensual deepfakes
In pursuit of technological innovation, generative AI's advocates have thrust the tools for highly-realistic, nonconsensual, synthetic forgeries, more commonly known as deepfake porn, into the hands of the Average Joe.
Ads for "nudify" undressing apps may appear on the sidebars of popular websites and in between Facebook posts, while manipulated sexual images of public figures spread as trending fodder for the masses. The problem has trickled down through the online sphere into the real lives of users, including young people. Implicated in it all are AI's creators and distributors.
Government leaders are attacking the problem through piecemeal legislative efforts. The tech and social sectors are balancing their responsibility to users with the need for innovation. But deepfakes are a hard concept to fight with the weapon of corporate policy.
An alarming issue with no single solution
Solving the deepfake problem is made more difficult by just how hard it is to pinpoint deepfakes, not to mention widespread disagreement on who is responsible for nonconsensual synthetic forgeries.
Advocacy and research organization the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, which fights against the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images (NDII), defines sexually explicit digital forgeries as any manipulated photos or videos that falsely (and almost indistinguishably) depict an actual person nude or engaged in sexual conduct. NDII doesn't inherently involve AI (think Photoshop), but generative AI tools are now commonly associated with their ability to create deepfakes, which is a catchall term originally coined in 2017, that has come to mean any manipulated visual or auditory likeness.
Broadly, "deepfake" images could refer to minor edits or a completely unreal rendering of a person's likeness. Some may be sexually explicit, but even more are not. They can be consensually made, or used as a form of Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA). They can be regulated or policed from the moment of their creation or earlier through the policies and imposed limitations of AI tools themselves, or regulated after their creation, as they're spread online. They could even be outlawed completely, or curbed by criminal or civil liabilities to their makers or distributors, depending on the intent.
Companies, defining the threat of nonconsensual deepfakes independently, have chosen to view sexual synthetic forgeries in several ways: as a crime addressed through direct policing, as a violation of existing terms of service (like those regulating "revenge porn" or misinformation), or, simply, not their responsibility.
Here's a list of just some of those companies, how they fit into the picture, and their own stated policies touching on deepfakes.
Anthropic
AI developers like Anthropic and its competitors have to be answerable for products and systems that can be used to generate artificial AI content. To many, that means they also hold more liability for their tools' outputs and users.
Advertising itself as a safety-first AI company, Anthropic has maintained a strict anti-NSFW policy, using fairly ironclad terms of service and abuse filters to try to curb bad user behavior from the start. It's also worth noting that Anthropic's Claude chatbot is not allowed to generate images of any kind.
Our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) prohibits the use of our models to generate deceptive or misleading content, such as engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior or disinformation campaigns. This also includes a prohibition on using our services to impersonate a person by presenting results as human-generated or using results in a manner intended to convince a natural person that they are communicating with a natural person.
Users cannot generate sexually explicit content. This includes the usage of our products or services to depict or request sexual intercourse or sex acts, generate content related to sexual fetishes or fantasies, facilitate, promote, or depict incest or bestiality, or engage in erotic chats.
Users cannot create, distribute, or promote child sexual abuse material. We strictly prohibit and will report to relevant authorities and organizations where appropriate any content that exploits or abuses minors.
Apple
In contrast to companies like Anthropic, tech conglomerates play the role of host or distributor for synthetic content. Social platforms, for example, provide opportunity for users to swap images and videos. Online marketplaces, like app stores, become avenues for bad actors to sell or access generative AI tools and their building blocks. As companies dive deeper into AI, though, these roles are becoming more blurred.
Recent scrutiny has fallen on Apple's App Store and other marketplaces for allowing explicit deepfake apps. While it's App Store policies aren't as direct as its competitors, notably Google Play, the company has reinforced anti-pornography policies in both its advertising and store rules. But controversy remains among the wide array of Apple products. In recent months, the company has been accused of underreporting the role of its devices and services in the spread of both real and AI-generated child sexual abuse materials.
And Apple's recent launch of Apple Intelligence will pose new policing questions.
Apple News does not allow ad content that promotes adult-oriented themes or graphic content. For example, pornography, Kama Sutra, erotica, or content that promotes "how to" and other sex games.
Apple App Store offerings cannot include content that is overtly sexual or pornographic material, defined as "explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings." This includes "hookup" apps and other apps that may include pornography or be used to facilitate prostitution, or human trafficking and exploitation.
Apps with user-generated content or services that end up being used primarily for pornographic content, Chatroulette-style experiences, objectification of real people (e.g. "hot-or-not" voting), making physical threats, or bullying do not belong on the App Store and may be removed without notice.
GitHub
GitHub, as a platform for developers to create, store, and share projects, treats the building and advertising of any non-consensual explicit imagery as a violation of its Acceptable Use Policy — similar to misinformation. It offers its own generative AI assistant for coding, but doesn't provide any visual or audio outputs.
GitHub does not allow any projects that are designed for, encourage, promote, support, or suggest in any way the use of synthetic or manipulated media for the creation of non-consensual intimate imagery or any content that would constitute misinformation or disinformation under this policy.
Alphabet, Inc.
Google plays a multifaceted role in the creation of synthetic images as both host and developer. It's announced several policy changes to curb both access to and the dissemination of nonconsensual synthetic content in Search, as well as advertising of "nudify" apps in Google Play. This came after the tech giant was called out for its role in surfacing nonconsensual digital forgeries on Google.com.
AI-generated synthetic porn will be lowered in Google Search rankings.
Users can ask to remove explicit non-consensual fake imagery from Google.
Shopping ads cannot promote services that generate, distribute, or store synthetic sexually explicit content or synthetic content containing nudity. Shopping ads cannot provide instructions on the creation of such content.
Developers on the Google Play Store must ensure generative AI apps do not generate offensive content, including prohibited content, content that may exploit or abuse children, and content that can deceive users or enable dishonest behaviors.
YouTube
As a host for content, YouTube has prioritized moderating user uploads and providing reporting mechanisms for subjects of forgeries.
Explicit content meant to be sexually gratifying is not allowed on YouTube. Posting pornography may result in content removal or channel termination.
Creators are required to disclose [altered or synthetic content] content when it’s realistic, meaning that a viewer could easily mistake what’s being shown with a real person, place, or event.
If someone has used AI to alter or create synthetic content that looks or sounds like you, you can ask for it to be removed. In order to qualify for removal, the content should depict a realistic altered or synthetic version of your likeness.
Microsoft
Microsoft offers its own generative AI tools, including image generators hosted on Bing and Copilot, that also harness external AI models like OpenAI's DALL-E 3. The company applies its larger content policies to users engaging with this AI, and has instituted prompt safeguards and watermarking, but it likely bears the responsibility for anything that falls through the cracks.
Microsoft does not allow the sharing or creation of sexually intimate images of someone without their permission—also called non-consensual intimate imagery, or NCII. This includes photorealistic NCII content that was created or altered using technology.
Bing does not permit the use of Image Creator to create or share adult content, violence or gore, hateful content, terrorism and violent extremist content, glorification of violence, child sexual exploitation or abuse material, or content that is otherwise disturbing or offensive.
OpenAI
OpenAI is one of the biggest names in AI development, and its models and products are incorporated into — or are the foundations of — many of the generative AI tools offered by companies worldwide. OpenAI retains strong terms of use to try to protect itself from the ripple effects of such widespread use of its AI models.
In May, OpenAI announced it was exploring the possibility of allowing NSFW outputs in age-appropriate content on its own ChatGPT and associated API. Up until that point, the company had remained firm in banning any such content. OpenAI told Mashable at the time that despite the potential chatbot uses, the company still prohibited AI-generated pornography and deepfakes.
Users can't repurpose or distribute output from OpenAI services to harm others. Examples include output to defraud, scam, spam, mislead, bully, harass, defame, discriminate based on protected attributes, sexualize children, or promote violence, hatred or the suffering of others.
Users cannot use OpenAI technologies to impersonate another individual or organization without consent or legal right.
Users cannot build tools that may be inappropriate for minors, including sexually explicit or suggestive content.
Meta
While parent company Meta continues to explore generative AI integration on its platforms, its come under intense scrutiny for failing to curb explicit synthetic forgeries and IBSA. Following widespread controversy, Facebook's taken a more strict stance on nudify apps advertising on the site.
Meta, meanwhile, has turned toward stronger AI labelling efforts and moderation, as its Oversight Board reviews Meta's power to address sexually explicit and suggestive AI-generated content.
To protect survivors, we remove images that depict incidents of sexual violence and intimate images shared without the consent of the person(s) pictured.
We do not allow content that attempts to exploit people by: Coercing money, favors or intimate imagery from people with threats to expose their intimate imagery or intimate information (sextortion); or sharing, threatening, stating an intent to share, offering or asking for non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII)...
We do not allow promoting, threatening to share, or offering to make non-real non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII) either by applications, services, or instructions, even if there is no (near) nude commercial or non-commercial imagery shared in the content.
Instagram similarly moderates visual media posted to its site, bolstered by its community guidelines.
We don’t allow nudity on Instagram. This includes photos, videos, and some digitally-created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks.
Snapchat
Snapchat's generative AI tools do include limited image generation, so its potential liability stems from its reputation as a site known for sexual content swapping and as a possible creator of synthetic explicit images.
We prohibit promoting, distributing, or sharing pornographic content. We also don’t allow commercial activities that relate to pornography or sexual interactions (whether online or offline).
Don't use My AI to generate political, sexual, harassing, or deceptive content, spam, malware, or content that promotes violence, self-harm, human-trafficking, or that would violate our Community Guidelines.
TikTok
TikTok, which has its own creative AI suite known as TikTok Symphony, has recently waded into murkier generative AI waters after launching AI-generated digital avatars. It appears the company's legal and ethical standing will rest on establishing proof of consent for AI-generated likenesses. TikTok has general community guidelines rules against nudity, the exposure of young people's bodies, and sexual activity or services.
AI-generated content containing the likeness (visual or audio) of a real or fictional person aren't allowed, even if disclosed with the AI-generated content label, and may be removed. This applies to AI-generated content featuring a public figure — adults (18 years and older) with a significant public role, such as a government official, politician, business leader, or celebrity — when used for political or commercial endorsements. Content featuring a private figure (any person who isn't a public figure, including people under 18 years old) are also prohibited.
X/Twitter
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence investment, xAI, has recently added image generation to its platform chatbot Grok, and the image generator is capable of some eyebrow-raising facsimiles of celebrities. Grok's interface is built right into to the X platform, which is in turn a major forum for users to share their own content, moderated haphazardly through the site's community and advertising guidelines.
X recently announced new policies that allow consensual adult content on the platform, but did not specify the posting of sexual digital forgeries, consensual or otherwise.
You may not post or share intimate photos or videos of someone that were produced or distributed without their consent. We will immediately and permanently suspend any account that we identify as the original poster of intimate media that was created or shared without consent. We will do the same with any account that posts only this type of content, e.g., accounts dedicated to sharing upskirt images.
You can’t post or share explicit images or videos that were taken, appear to have been taken or that were shared without the consent of the people involved. This includes images or videos that superimpose or otherwise digitally manipulate an individual’s face onto another person’s nude body.
This story will be periodically updated as policies evolve.