Pedophiles are now using the technology of deep fakery – better known by its English name of deepfake — to create even more child pornography. They use photos and videos of child sexual abuse and replace their faces with those of young people they find everywhere, including on Facebook, where their parents proudly post photos of their offspring.
And the phenomenon will grow, warns the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), which is warning parents: be careful what you put online.
“Unfortunately, there is not a child who is safe from this form of exploitation,” said in an interview with Duty René Morin, spokesperson for the Canadian Center for Child Protection. Because this technology, supported by software using artificial intelligence, “allows the commission of crimes that could implicate virtually all the children of our communities”, writes judge Benoit Gagnon, clearly shocked, by sending a man to prison who produced child pornography in this way.
A simple video extract of a child available on social networks – or even a surreptitious video capture of children shot in a public place – “could turn them into potential victims”, continues the magistrate of the Court of Quebec in his decision handed down last month. “It sends shivers down my spine. »
According to him, this criminal case would be a first before the courts. “The situation under study is unique in court cases in the country since the criminalization of the production of child pornography in the form of deep-faking is unprecedented. »
A record “collection”
Police authorities arrested Steven Larouche, a 60-year-old from the Sherbrooke area, in December 2021. On his computer, they found a considerable number of photo and video files: more than 545,000 – a “dizzying” amount, writes Judge Gagnon.
As for the files that the accused created using deep-faking software, there were 86,000 of them. facials in order to realistically replace one face with another, which comes to life and speaks, the judgment reads.
Steven Larouche’s “collection” is among the most important in judicial history, sadly notes the magistrate. The small sample of images presented to the Court “leaves speechless” and reveals “what is most vile and abject”.
The use of deep-faking can be difficult to detect. In this judgment, we learn that over time, specialized investigators recognize certain child pornography images and video sequences, because they are found in multiple “collections”. Here, officers noted that some videos looked familiar to them, with a few differences. Further investigation showed that faces had been substituted on previously known videos. Deep-faking software was later found on the offender’s computer.
According to the Canadian Center for Child Protection, deep-faking is a continuation of the technologies used to victimize children: before, image-editing software like Photoshop was used, but still produced results less realistic, explains René Morin.
What is the point of replacing the faces with others in this way? According to Mr. Morin, the offenders do it to integrate the faces of children they know: a little neighbor or a member of their family. “A way to give free rein to their fantasies,” he says. And the videos thus produced are also used for sextortion: “you pay me such and such a sum of money, otherwise I will put this video online with your child”, he describes.
According to Justice Gagnon, there is also a constant appetite for “new material” in the pedophile rings — and this is one way to create it.
perverted technology
Mr. Morin cannot quantify the phenomenon of hyperfaking, but emphasizes that “we are seeing it more and more”. Unfortunately, he says, the technology generates a lot of discussion and exchange on underground pedophile forums. “What is concerning is that with Photoshop, it took time. Now it’s much easier. And that risks increasing the quantity of material in circulation. »
This is also what the SQ fears, whose agents have investigated Steven Larouche.
The phenomenon is not yet widespread, says Sergeant Geneviève Bruneau, but “the SQ is well aware that it will grow in the next few years”. Our teams are constantly on the lookout, she adds. “We must have a collective awareness that if we put photos on social media, it becomes easily accessible material for people who have this deviance. »
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) stresses the importance of raising parents’ awareness of the risks associated with the online publication of images of their children. “We strongly recommend that they enable controls and adjust the privacy settings of their social media accounts to restrict the audience of their posts, photos and videos. »
But despite all the efforts that can be made, from the moment they are online, “it is impossible to guarantee the end of their broadcast,” adds SPVM spokesperson Anik de Repentigny.
We must have a collective awareness that if we put photos on social media, it becomes easily accessible material for people who have this deviance.
Project Arachnid, from the Canadian Center for Child Protection, is participating in the effort by spreading its net on the Web to combat the proliferation of images of child sexual abuse, in particular by deploying image detection tools to delete them.
Steven Larouche pleaded guilty to possession, distribution and production of child pornography. But he had the feeling “of having committed a victimless crime” since he had no real contact with the children, it is noted in the judgment on his sentence.
Judge Gagnon swiftly dismissed this argument. Offenders cannot hope for leniency from the court by claiming that they have been “just do-it-yourselfers”. They will face the same sanctions, he warns, by imposing on Steven Larouche an eight-year prison sentence for his crimes, among the most serious of the Criminal Code.
The task of the police forces will now be more complex and difficult, noted the judge: “The police authorities are visibly finding themselves in a new era of cybercrime. »