The creation of fake nudes using artificial intelligence, using the hyperfaking technique, or deepfakeis gaining momentum in secondary schools across the country. A phenomenon with serious consequences for victims, which worries those involved in the field.
What there is to know
The creation of fake nudes using artificial intelligence is gaining momentum in high schools across the country and experts are sounding the alarm.
Websites and applications, often free, that allow people to create this type of image are developing and multiplying, while restrictions governing businesses and education for young people are not.
If the fake nudes are child pornography, young people rarely realize that their actions have criminal implications.
In a Montreal high school, members of the administration and teachers receive nude photos of teenage girls from the establishment. They were sent by students of the same year. The images are deceptive. They seem real at first glance. The Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) is opening an investigation. The verdict is in: the images were generated by artificial intelligence from clothed photos of the minor victims. But the faces are real.
Maya Alieh is a detective sergeant and supervisor of the SPVM’s cyberinvestigation unit. Her team investigated this case a few years ago. The event was ahead of its time, she says. But since then, many other cases of this type have been reported in schools. And several experts are sounding the alarm.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Maya Alieh, detective sergeant and supervisor of the cyberinvestigation module of the City of Montreal Police Department, last October
“The phenomenon always happens in the same way. I had a similar case this year,” Maya Alieh points out.
Just for this year, the police officer expects the SPVM to have around 10 to 12 cases of fake nudes created by teenagers and showing one or more teenage girls.
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection (CCCP) is also seeing an increase in reports in Canada. Over the past 12 months, there have been 4,000 reports of deep-fake sexually explicit images of minors, including child pornography, sextortion and fake nudes created by teens, according to spokesperson René Morin.
Same observation at the office of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP). Me Maxime Ouellette, prosecutor and instigator of the SEXTO project set up in 2016, notes that a “trend is taking hold”. Twelve to 18 months ago, he heard little about cases of fake nudes between teenagers.
Recent phenomenon
For mee Ouellette and Me Joanny St-Pierre, also a prosecutor at the DPCP, the figures are not yet “alarming”, but the phenomenon is.
I think we are really on the verge [d’un phénomène] which is coming with an explosion, but I am not convinced that we are still seeing it in police investigation cases and the courts.
Me Joanny St-Pierre, prosecutor at the DPCP
The phenomenon is recent and the images are not always recognized as false. If images are created but not reported, the numbers are not compiled.
“We often have the image of the guy who is a bit embarrassed in his basement, who doesn’t dare to come into contact with others,” but this is rarely the case, explains M.e St-Pierre. According to prosecutors, there are as many reasons for creating these images as there are teenagers. One teenager might download deep-doctored images of his girlfriend “for a laugh”; another, a classmate to harass or intimidate her.
Sites and applications, often free, allowing you to create this type of image are developing and multiplying; restrictions governing businesses and education for young people, no. “We are rowing against the tide of new technologies,” underlines Mme Alieh.
Some sites or applications were not created for hyperfaking. Others have firewalls. However, the SPVM detective sergeant believes that “young people have no difficulty using the sites”.
According to René Morin, the current phenomenon of fake nudes in our schools is reminiscent of that of sexting in its early days, when it took schools by surprise.
Many consequences
Anxiety, suicidal thoughts, isolation, the constant quest to remove nude photos from the web: the consequences for victims are as serious as if the photos were real.
The images being first judged to be real, the pressure rests on the shoulders of the victims, explains Me St-Pierre. The care of victims by schools or the police can take several days, even several weeks, and there are serious consequences.
If fake nudes correspond to child pornography, young people rarely realize that their actions have criminal significance.
Julie Miville-Dechêne is an independent senator and instigator of the federal bill on the exposure of young people to pornography. For her, the popularity of the phenomenon of fake nudes among adolescents is the direct consequence of the normalization of pornography.
Currently, no federal law regulates photo, audio or video hyperfaking. Bill C-27 on artificial intelligence and Bill C-63 on online harms are at first reading in the House of Commons. These two laws would make it possible to regulate the phenomenon.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, instigator of the federal bill on the exposure of young people to pornography
Canada is dragging its feet. Legislation is needed and it is urgent.
Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, instigator of the federal bill on the exposure of young people to pornography
Laurent Charlin, associate professor at HEC Montréal and holder of a Canada-CIFAR Chair in AI, recognizes that it is essential to put laws in place. However, he points out that this does not seem to be enough since countries do not always have the capacity to implement them and prosecute offending companies. “For a long time, we weren’t thinking about ethical artificial intelligence or safeguards,” he explains.
The best way to address the fake nude phenomenon is to educate young people about new technologies and their impact. “In 2024, we should be ensuring the digital security of our children like we are teaching them to swim,” believes Me St Pierre.
Prevention and advice
How can we prevent teenagers from creating fake nudes or being victims of them? Here is the advice of Detective Sergeant Maya Alieh, of the SPVM, and Me Maxime Ouellette and Me Joanny St-Pierre, DPCP prosecutors.
Preventative measures
- Limit your online exposure and photos of your face (use a social filter to determine who can access your profile and view your posts).
- When in doubt, analyze the details of a photo to try to detect the presence of aberrations and anomalies.
- Do not share images that you did not take because you do not know the source.
- Do not send intimate photos of yourself, even to a lover.
Advice for parents
- Remind young people that they are responsible for their actions online in the same way as in real life.
- Talk to your children about the risks and consequences of creating deep-frozen images of other students, especially in a sexual context. The consequences are criminal.
- Receive a victim with kindness if they confide in you about the fake nudes or deep fakes they were subjected to.
- Contact the school and the police when you know of a victim of fake nudes or deep fakes so that an investigation can be opened and you can be directed to the appropriate resources.