Camera Stefani Reynolds, AFP/NTB
Google has long had a ban on sexually explicit advertising. However, what they have not had a clear ban on is promoting services that can be used to create deepfake porn, and other forms of generated nudity.
That is now about to change.
Not implemented yet
Google has now updated its advertising policy and prohibits advertisers from promoting “synthetic content that has been modified or generated to be sexually explicit or contain nudity”. This includes websites and apps that instruct people on how to create fake pornography.
– This update is to explicitly ban ads for services that offer to create fake pornography or synthetic nudity content, says Google spokesman Michael Aciman to The Verge.
The change, which comes into effect on 30 May, will result in ads that break the rules being removed. Google uses a combination of manual review and automated systems to enforce the policy.
In 2023, Google removed over 1.8 billion ads for violating its sexual content guidelines, according to the company’s annual ad safety report.
Growing problem
Non-consensual deepfake porn has become a persistent problem in recent years, and we’ve heard several incidents from the US where it has had consequences. Two Florida high school students were arrested in December for creating AI-generated nude photos of fellow students.
This week, a 57-year-old Pittsburgh man was sentenced to over 14 years in prison for possessing deepfake child abuse material.
Norway will probably follow EU legislation
New laws and regulations for the use of AI are also being worked on in the EU. And relatively recently, the Council of Europe, the EU Parliament and the EU Commission are said to have agreed on a new directive targeting AI-generated nude and pornographic images in the EU. This is a proposal that also includes the sharing of intimate images without consent, as well as revenge porn and online harassment.
The European Commission pointed out that criminalizing online pornography without consent will be particularly important to help victims in countries that have not yet criminalized this type of act.
– This is a topic that urgently needs to be addressed, given the exponential spread and dramatic impact of online violence, they write in a statement.
It is likely that Norway will introduce rules related to AI and revenge porn, as part of the EEA agreement.
