Are there any new legislative attempts to regulate the use of deepfakes? Not really. According to the fact that eBay and other platforms are currently profiting from the sale of pornographic images of celebrities, who don’t even want to comment on their own deepfakes, there seems to be a lack of effective regulation.
On the popular online trading platform eBay, the number of pornographic images featuring celebrities created with the help of artificial intelligence is rapidly increasing. Formally, the company prohibits the sale of such content, but its sellers occupy leading positions in the platform’s rankings. Most of the victims are women.
The eBay marketplace has been flooded with thousands of pornographic images of celebrities generated using neural networks. Forbes USA notified eBay about the prohibited content, after which the company removed hundreds of photos and blocked the accounts of the sellers, but not all of them.
For example, in one of the stores, among more than 400 items, there were fake nude photos of Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and other public figures. From another account, hundreds of similar images of Jenna Ortega, Margot Robbie, and Gal Gadot were being sold for $6.39 each.
“It’s not just about the sellers; it turns out that eBay is profiting from pornographic content,” says Lina Nealon, Director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE). “They are ‘selling’ women’s bodies. Since these images are created without the consent of the victims, it is an egregious violation of rights.”
According to eBay’s rules, sellers are allowed to post AI-generated images on the platform, provided they fall under the categories of ‘Art’ and ‘Collectibles.’ The company’s policy on ‘adult’ content states that ‘sexually explicit photos of public figures, whether generated or otherwise created, are prohibited.’ Despite these clear rules, sellers freely upload such items.
eBay stated that the company is ‘in the process of updating its policy regarding deepfakes.’ Company spokesperson Trina Somera said that eBay regularly monitors the platform using AI technology, a team of professional moderators, and analytical tools.
Representatives for Ortega, Gomez, Aniston, Lawrence, Perry, Grande, Robbie, and Gadot did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Lina Nealon from NCOSE, there are still no federal laws in the U.S. protecting victims of deepfakes, but three more bills aimed at addressing this issue have been introduced in Congress.