Twitch streamers' faces started appearing on malicious artificial intelligence-generated (AI) pornography deepfake without their consent.
Unconsenting deepfakes have been initially using celebrities and other significantly popular people.
But this time, wherein the technology has become more accessible and advanced, it started spilling to unconsenting streamers and even influencers.
Twitch Streamers Appear on Deepfake Porn Without Their Consent
As per a recent report by NBC News, deepfake porn videos are rapidly rising online since 2018, a study by a live streaming analyst, Genevieve Oh shows.
The numbers are quite alarming. In 2018, there were a ton already, nearly 2,000 malicious videos. But fast forward to 2022, it saw a sharp increase with a staggering 13,000 AI-generated clips.
Not to mention that the monthly views last year grew to a whopping 16 million. So its viewership is also rising.
A University of California, Berkeley, computer science professor, Hany Farid, told NBC News that the trend for non-consensual deepfake videos has alarmingly changed.
The computer science professors state that it is no longer limited to celebrities. Farid notes that "now suddenly the people who are vulnerable are people who have very small footprints online."
AI technology has gotten more sophisticated. It now only needs "small training stats." Instead of the previous requirement of "hours and hours of video."
This puts influencers with a few videos and photos online vulnerable to non-consensual malicious deepfake videos.
On top of that, deepfake-producing apps are easily available on various app marketplaces, such as the Apple App Store for iPhone users and the Google Play Store for Android device owners.
Twitch Streamers Pokimane and Maya Slams Deekfake Porn
In January, Twitch streamers, including the most popular ones like Pokimane, slammed these non-consensual deepfake porn spreading like wildfire online, which uses their faces.
The popular Twitch streamer, Pokimane, tweeted, calling everyone to "stop sexualizing people without their consent. that's it, that's the tweet."
Meanwhile, another streamer, Maya, issued a statement on Twitter. She notes that the deepfake porn makes her "feel disgusting, vulnerable, nauseous, and violated."
Read Also : Increasing Number of Deepfake Voice Misuse Cases Attributed to ElevenLabs AI Beta Platform
Deepfake Porn Sharing Without Consent To Be Criminalized?
Tech Crunch notes in its reports that the United Kingdom Online Safety Bill seeks to put an end to these acts of sexualization.
It is looking to crack down on abusive non-consensual deepfake videos by criminalizing them. The bill proposes to put those sharing these malicious clips in jail.
Essentially, it should help protect the victims of these abusive AI-generated videos.