Regulation of deepfakes

By: Gaayatri Godbole

As we begin to understand the broad applicability of deepfakes and their potential to

change media, privacy, and accountability as we know it, the need for frameworks that safeguard

against their abuse is clear. With the rise of social media, there has already been considerable

discussion about the role of social media companies in regulating content, and the situations in

which they should do so. There is the argument that while newspaper publishers are able to read

editorials before they are published, social media companies cannot moderate content before it is

posted to their platforms because media is constantly being uploaded to these platforms. Social

media companies should not immediately be held responsible for content that is posted, but

should be required to remove posts that are harmful to others or contain violence. In PHIL-401,

we learned about the theories of well-known philosophers and how their thoughts can be of value

when analyzing new technological developments and their effects on society. John Stuart Mill

was an early proponent of free speech, and he argued that it was necessary to promote free

speech so that people were not trapped in echo chambers and filter bubbles in which only their

own beliefs would be reinforced. However, he did not encourage inherently harmful speech. If

we view deepfakes through Mill’s eyes, we might predict that satirical deepfakes which aim to

mock a person or find fault in their argument, would be acceptable. Deepfake pornography (the

most prevalent type), changing peoples’ speech to hateful comments, etc. would not be

acceptable. Although this framework can be used, it is important to address the unique

challenges that accompany deepfake regulation. Deepfakes are meant to fool people into

thinking that they are real, which means that even in instances where they are used for satire,

they may not be perceived as satirical by all. Because of this, it is important to develop
regulations which address the technological challenges associated with deepfake detection along

with the legal challenges of content moderation. This could take the form of technology that

detects deepfakes when they are posted to platforms and automatically flags them as such to

prevent confusion. In addition there should be laws that identify people who create malicious

deepfake content to protect the rights of people whose content they are reproducing. Lastly

frameworks must be in place that ensure that the original creators of the work receive the credit

that they deserve and the assurance that others cannot modify their work. If these three actions

are taken together, we can protect the rights of creators and limit the harm that this technology

can have, without ignoring its potential benefits.