The Guardian’s Report The Youth Court of Badajoz on Tuesday convicted the minors of 20 counts of making images of child abuse and 20 counts of crimes against the moral integrity of their victims. Each of the 15 children was given one year of probation. The court also reportedly ordered the children to attend special classes to understand the responsible use of technology with equality awareness.
The report states that the court statement confirmed that the minors had used AI applications to manipulate the original images. All the children are said to be between 13 and 15 years old. Spanish law protects minors under the age of 14 from criminal prosecution. However, their cases are often transferred to child protection departments, which may mandate participation in rehabilitation programs.
The report further states that in an interview with the publication five months ago, the mother of one of the victims recalled her shock, saying “It’s a shock when you see it.” “The image is completely realistic… If I didn’t know my daughter’s body, I would have thought the picture was real.”
This incident certainly forces us to think seriously about deepfake technology from now on. As this technology becomes easier to access and use, people will become more concerned, especially considering the growing crowd on social media and its impact on children.
In India too, cases of making fake videos or deepfakes of celebrities using AI have increased. In such a situation, recently the central government warned social media platforms Facebook and YouTube about deepfakes. Social media platforms including Facebook and YouTube were told that under the law of the country, posting deepfakes and content that spreads obscenity or misinformation is prohibited.