A Louisiana man was arrested on 50 counts of child pornography.
The child pornography images and videos allegedly included deepfake images of children "that appear indistinguishable from real child pornography." The deepfake images were created using artificial intelligence (AI).
State investigators searched the man's home after receiving a tip concerning child pornography from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Police arrested the 41-year-old man for exchanging pornography depicting children (toddlers to 10-year-olds) in sexual activities through the messaging app KIK. They also booked him on three counts of unlawful deepfakes.
Following his arrest, the man allegedly told agents that he sent multiple photographs of clothed children to an individual online who used an AI program to create the deepfake child pornography. Records show that investigators found at least five deepfake child pornography images. Domenic Purdy "Zachary man arrested for possession of child porn, deepfaked images 'indistinguishable' from child porn" www.wbrz.com (Jul. 15, 2024).
Commentary
Deepfake child pornography violates federal law, as well as state law in a growing number of states.
Section 2256 of Title 18 of the United States Code prohibits "any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor (someone under 18 years of age)," which includes "photographs, videos, digital or computer-generated images indistinguishable from an actual minor, and images created, adapted, or modified, but appear to depict an identifiable, actual minor." "Citizen's Guide To U.S. Federal Law On Child Pornography" www.justice.gov (Aug. 11, 2023).
Using AI to manipulate a clothed image of a child to create deepfake child pornography, as occurred in this case, is strictly prohibited under federal law as illegal child pornography. Parents, guardians, and safe adults should treat AI-generated deepfake child pornography as they would any other child pornography, and report it to law enforcement or to the local child protection agency.
In addition, some states have passed laws specifically prohibiting deepfake child pornography. For example, the governor of Illinois signed House Bill 4623 into law in August 2024. The new law "clarifies that child pornography laws in Illinois apply to images and videos created by AI." Gabriel Castillo "Governor Pritzker signs law to shield children from AI-generated child pornography" wgntv.com (Aug. 12, 2024).
Even in states that have not passed laws specific to deepfake child pornography, it may still be illegal under existing state child pornography laws if they use a similar definition of child pornography as the federal law. Therefore, deepfake child pornography may violate both federal and state laws and carry significant charges, as in the case above.
