A San Francisco lawyer has filed a lawsuit against sixteen so-called "nudify" websites and apps. These allegedly use artificial intelligence vom enabling the creation of non-consensual deepfake content with real women.
The suit, filed against websites and apps with U.S. and international addresses, was made public by attorney David Chiu. The websites are accused of violating California's Unfair Competition Law, as well as state and federal laws in the U.S. and California regarding deepfake, revenge and child abuse content.
The lawsuit names sixteen websites or applications 50 unidentified persons. In addition to the listed civil penalties, the lawsuit demands the closure of the websites and applications and the entry of a court order prohibiting their owners from developing similar services in the future.
Because the laws dealing with non-consensual AI deep-fake adult pornography evolve considerably slower than the technology itself, there are sometimes gray areas in the U.S. legal system surrounding this practice. Nevertheless, further anti-deepfake legislation was approved by the U.S. Senate in July 2024.
Defiance Act
If the new Defiance Act is passed as federal law, residents will have the right to take legal action against anyone who "knowingly produces, distributes or receives anything sexually explicit digitally" without consent.
"The laws have not kept pace with the spread of this offensive content," stated U.S. lawmakers bringing the bipartisan Defiance Act to the Senate. The Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act, which aimed to make the sharing of non-consensual deepfake porn illegal, was introduced in 2023, which preceded the introduction of this bill.
According to the San Francisco lawsuit, some of the 16 websites or applications named as defendants "only" produce deepfakes with adults in them, but others can be used to create deepfakes with minors in them.
Are deepfakes going to be banned?
Lawyer for the lawsuit, David Chiu, stated that the FBI has warned the public of an increase in extortion schemes involving non-consensual AI-generated pornography. As with all new technologies, he stated that "generative AI holds tremendous promise, but there are also unintended consequences and criminals looking to exploit the new technology."
Chiu continued, "We all need to play a role in taking down bad actors who use AI to abuse and exploit real people, including children."
Non-consensual AI porn deepfakes
In fact, the topic of non-consensual AI porn deepfakes gained attention in 2024, especially since a number of female celebrities discovered that pornographic deepfakes of them were shared online without their knowledge or approval.
Google recently changed its functionality and excluded results for deepfake nude photos from its primary search engine. Instead of actually showing deepfake nudity, the company now wants to use its search engine to promote verifiable news stories about the effects of deepfake porn.
Other countries outside the US are also taking strict measures against non-voluntary deep-fake pornography. In England and Wales, the production of such things will soon be banned.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has filed a defamation lawsuit against two individuals for allegedly creating deepfake pornography featuring an altered version of her.
