Deepfakes, or synthetic media wherein a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else"s resemblance, have been around for quite some time now. While there are some benefits to the technology, many people have been exploiting it to create deepfake porn. This forced many platforms like Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook to ban such media on their websites.
Video live streaming service Twitch is now also taking a harder stance against deepfakes. In a recent post, the service announced that it will no longer tolerate "synthetic non-consensual exploitative images" (NCEI). The company is now emphasizing that the intentional promotion, creation, or sharing of synthetic NCEI can result in an indefinite suspension on the first offense. Even if NCEI is shown briefly, it will be removed and result in a punishment. These updates will roll out later this month, according to Twitch.
This development comes after a Twitch streamer in January streamed a browser window that showed the faces of fellow streamers QTCinderella, Pokimane, and Maya Higa attached to the bodies of naked women. The streamer later apologized, saying that he "clicked on a fucking link at 2 AM," and his morals didn"t catch up to him.
As part of its crackdowns on NCEI, Twitch has consulted with safety expert, law professor, and Vice President of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative Danielle Keats Citron and experts from the UK Revenge Porn Helpline. "By learning from experts with years of experience, we can borrow from the industry’s best standards and practices when deciding how to protect our community," Twitch stated in its blog. The platform is also conducting a Creator Camp on March 14 to understand the harms of NCEI, how to spot it, what to do if you find it, and how to protect yourself online.