Two men were charged with federal crimes after creating explicit deepfakes of celebrities

Federal prosecutors arrested two men for making explicit deepfakes of celebrities | Mashable

With one conviction under its belt, the Take It Down Act aims for more. Credit: Andrew Harnik/Staff / Getty Images News via Getty Images

Two men have been officially charged with a federal crime after they were caught generating and publishing AI deepfakes of female celebrities.Federal prosecutors arrested two men in conjunction with a criminal complaint that both separately made sexually explicit AI content that was viewed by millions of users online. The content featured female politicians, musicians, singers, and private photos of women known to one of the accused. The two men face up to two years in prison. Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. Loading... Sign Me Up

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SEE ALSO: Travel authority pulls public records used to create AI audio of deceased pilots The men are being tried under President Donald Trump's Take It Down Act, which criminalizes publishing or threatening to publish nonconsensual intimate imagery including AI generated pornography featuring real individuals. The bill, backed by First Lady Melania Trump and several major organizations addressing sexual cyber crime and child sexual abuse, went into effect exactly one year ago.At the time, many experts questioned how the act would actually be enforced under the Federal Trade Commission, specifically calling attention to removal procedures and redress for victims themselves. Others worried that the bill's broad guidelines would be contested on free speech grounds. Related Stories Child safety organizations accuse Roblox of violating FTC rules Google, Apple hosted dozens of deepfake nudify apps, investigation reveals Study: Teen girls are using AI to create sexual imagery Teens sue xAI for Grok's reported sexual image generation issues Kickstarter reverses controversial new NSFW content guidelines

Last month, the Take It Down Act nabbed its first conviction, after an Ohio man pleaded guilty to harassing women with nonconsensual AI images and videos depicting them in sexual acts, as well as generating child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) using the technology. "This case makes clear that posting deepfake pornography is not a victimless crime," U.S. attorney Joseph Nocella said following the arrests.

Topics Artificial Intelligence Social Good Donald Trump

Chase DiBenedetto Social Good Reporter Chase joined Mashable's Social Good team in 2020, covering online stories about digital activism, climate justice, accessibility, and media representation. Her work also captures how these conversations manifest in politics, popular culture, and fandom. Sometimes she's very funny.

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