The actor Kristen Bell discovered that her likeness was exploited by creators of deepfake pornography, who shared their non-consensual sexual depictions of her on the Internet.
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This report details the non-consensual use of deepfake technology to create and distribute pornographic content featuring the likenesses of women, including celebrities and private individuals. The practice is described as a form of digital manipulation that strips victims of control over their own faces and contributes to sexual humiliation. Research cited in the report indicates that the vast majority of deepfakes found online are pornographic in nature and target women without their consent.
The actor Kristen Bell discovered that her likeness was exploited by creators of deepfake pornography, who shared their non-consensual sexual depictions of her on the Internet.
The incident involves the targeted creation of humiliating and sexual deepfake imagery of specific victims (Kristen Bell and the Perth law graduate) without their consent, which fits under targeted manipulation and humiliation.
The incident was caused by human actors intentionally utilizing deployed deepfake generation tools to create non-consensual pornographic content targeting specific women.
Risk Level 3: Limited Risk. The incident involves 'AI-generated content such as deepfakes' which are subject to transparency obligations under the EU AI Act to ensure users are aware the content is synthetic.
Severity ratings are based on this scale.
Highest direct severity in any category: Minor. Severity is scored from Negligible to Catastrophic in each harm category, for harm the reports describe as caused directly or indirectly by the AI system.
Reported: The report explicitly describes the creation and distribution of toxic and malicious content in the form of non-consensual deepfake pornography.
Directly caused: Pornographic deepfake videos of Kristen Bell and the Perth law graduate were created and uploaded online, with 96 percent of all online deepfakes reported to be pornographic.
Inferred additional harm: It is inferred that tens of thousands of non-consensual pornographic deepfake videos of women are hosted and spread across various online platforms and websites.
Reported: The report explicitly describes differential treatment, noting that virtually all pornographic deepfakes target women.
Directly caused: The non-consensual deepfake technology disproportionately targets and exploits women, with 96 percent of deepfakes being pornographic and virtually all of those depicting women.
Inferred additional harm: This technology reinforces systemic gender-based harassment and the sexual objectification of women at scale across the internet.
Reported: The report explicitly discusses the violation of consent, which is a fundamental aspect of personal rights.
Directly caused: The victims' right to consent and control over their own likeness and bodily representation was violated by the non-consensual creation of sexual imagery.
Inferred additional harm: The widespread, non-consensual sexualization of women using AI represents a systemic threat to women's civil rights, personal safety, and digital autonomy.
Reported: The report explicitly describes privacy violations where personal photos from social media were taken and manipulated without consent.
Directly caused: An unnamed Perth law graduate had her private social media photos taken and used without her consent to generate nude images and deepfake videos.
Inferred additional harm: Many individuals face ongoing violations of their personal privacy as their publicly shared photos are harvested to train models or generate non-consensual explicit content.
Reported: The report explicitly describes psychological harm, noting that the victims felt shocked, exploited, and sexually humiliated.
Directly caused: Kristen Bell experienced shock and felt exploited upon discovering the deepfake videos, and the Perth law graduate suffered sexual humiliation from having her social media photos manipulated into nude images and videos.
Inferred additional harm: It is highly likely that thousands of other unnamed women targeted by non-consensual deepfake pornography experience severe emotional distress, anxiety, and trauma.
The incident highlights the widespread use of deepfake technology for non-consensual pornography targeting women. While causing severe psychological harm and privacy violations to individuals, its direct national security impact is minor, primarily affecting digital privacy and human rights frameworks rather than critical infrastructure or state sovereignty.