Two teenagers from Miami, Florida, have appeared in court for creating and distributing fake naked images of their peers using AI technologies. The 13 and 14-year-old boys utilized an unnamed artificial intelligence application to produce candid pictures of classmates aged 12-13 years.
The young men have been charged with a serious third-degree crime under Florida Law of 2022, which criminalizes the distribution of deepfake images of a sexually explicit nature without the victim’s consent. This marks the first recorded case of criminal prosecution for such an offense.
Local media brought attention to the incident after the Pinecrest Cove administration in Miami removed the accused individuals from classes on December 6. Subsequently, on December 22, the teenagers were arrested on charges of disseminating obscene materials.
The parents of the victims have called for the exclusion of the accused from school, with one victim expressing feeling “offended and used.” Legal experts have noted the anomaly that creating fake naked images carries a harsher penalty than distributing real intimate materials.
Despite the criminal implications, lawyers have questioned the wisdom of imposing severe measures on minor offenders, advocating for a restraining rather than punitive approach.
While most states have laws against revenge porn, only a few specifically address the creation of AI-generated intimate content. For instance, the Beverly Hills Police Department is investigating a similar case where students shared deepfake images of their classmates. However, the local laws do not explicitly cover AI-generated images.
The issue of AI-generated pornography has also impacted celebrities, as seen when the X social network had to restrict searches for Taylor Swift due to the influx of obscene images generated by neural networks.
*Please note: The social network mentioned is prohibited in the Russian Federation.