Organizations: Denmark should ban production of deepfake-porno.
DR-Inland in Denmark
Sunday, April 28, 2024 • 4:59 AM UTC - in Denmark
It should be prohibited to produce manipulated sexual material - also known as deepfake porn - without consent from the person whose images are used.
This is the gist of a new recommendation from Digital Responsibility.
The announcement comes after Britain has stated that they will make it illegal.
Deepfake porn has gained popularity in tandem with technological development, and it is primarily women who experience having their images taken from social media and manipulated to create a nude body (
> We need to stop it at the root instead of stopping it at the sharing,
> Jeppe Hald, who is the professional leader in Sex and Society
The internet is "exploding in an instant" with sexually manipulated content, according to Ask Hesby Holm, who is the director of Digital Responsibility.
- As it stands now, it is only illegal when it is shared. We would like to have it so that we intervene earlier and send a clear message that one should not be able to take someone else's face and body and produce this content without consent.
Here is what Ask Hesby Holm, the director of Digital Responsibility, had to say about it.
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What is manipulated sexual material?
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It is also known as deep fakes or deepfake porn.
Manipulated sexual material (MSM) is artificially created or manipulated image-, video-, text- or sound material that depicts an existing person in a sexual situation, which the person themselves has not participated in.
Source: Digital Responsibility
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'We need to stop it at the root'
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He is being backed by Sex and Society, who is also a member of Digital Responsibility.
- We think it's a good idea, says Jeppe Hald, who is the professional leader in Sex and Society.
- We need to stop it at the root instead of stopping it at the sharing.
It is a significant problem that one is exposed to this, and the reactions from those affected can be quite violent, he explains.
He describes some of the reactions as being the same as if one were subjected to a sexual assault. One withdraws from people, becomes depressed, and thinks badly of oneself.
- It's your face that is put on. You haven't given consent to this. And it's not something you've wanted to happen. So in that way, it's a very serious violation of your privacy, he says.
Furthermore, it doesn't stop there. It can remain online and be difficult to remove.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard (S) is also open to changing the law.
- Given the circumstances, it is already illegal, but it is clear that I think that this is so serious and so serious that we will also look into whether there is a need to clarify it in the Danish Criminal Code.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard (S) is not opposed to changes:
> It sends a signal that this is not okay. I think many live on the idea that it is legal to produce it, so they don't do anything wrong,
> Marie Watson, who has been subjected to deepfake porn
Marie Watson has over 20,000 followers on Instagram, and she is one of those who have experienced having images from her Instagram manipulated so that she appears naked on them.
- For me, it was a huge shock, because I'm out there with my face, and what do people think of me if they see this.
She reported it and experienced that she was taken seriously. It ended up in court, and the person who had shared the false nude images of her received a sentence, she explains.
She feels that it is 'fantastic to know that it is being taken more seriously':
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How much will it help?
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It is a step that is necessary if we are to see less deepfake porn in the future, believes Jakob Demant, who is a lecturer at the Sociological Institute at the University of Copenhagen and has researched groups where false nude images are shared.
But there will still be a lot of people who continue to produce it, he evaluates.
- Because we know that the sharing environments, where this is produced, produce it with the intention of harming others, so they will continue with it.
He evaluates, however, that there will be a gain when it comes to distribution. Here, a greater awareness will be created about it being illegal.
- You will primarily be able to influence those who use it a little for fun and who try it out and who don't have a particularly malicious and harmful intention with it, but who are rather fascinated by the technology. They will likely be relatively easy to scare away.
He points out, however, that it will be incredibly difficult for the police to enforce a ban. Therefore, it will be necessary to develop some technologies that can try to break into these environments.
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