Twitch has updated its guidelines and policies to deal with the controversial deepfake content going live on stream. Read more about it right here.
Deepfake technology is taking the internet by storm, and it hit the world’s most popular online streaming platform, Twitch, in January. This event left content creators (whose images were used) traumatized while engaging in conversations on the dangers of AI-generated images and their capabilities in this day and age.
Twitch has recently announced that there is no space for explicit deepfake content on their platform and ensured to protect their female streamers by hosting a “Creator Camp” on March 14, 2023. This camp will raise awareness in the online streaming community about taking certain measures against deepfake technology’s effects. In this article, The CPU Guide will discuss deepfake technology and how Twitch is going to deal with the recent deepfake controversy.
What Exactly is the Deepfake Technology?
For those who don’t know, Deepfake technology is the inappropriate use of Artificial Intelligence to create explicit images, audio, and videos featuring facial expressions and actions of anyone who has never said or done that. Here is a demonstration of AI-generated images talking to each other in an understandable language.
Seems realistic right? It’s just two images converted into conversation and expressions using synthetic media with Deep Learning. Similarly, you can create any content, putting the facial features of any person into doing something explicit on video. That’s precisely what happened back in January, where multiple Twitch streamers were targeted under “synthetic non-consensual exploitative images,” or “synthetic NCEI” as labeled by Twitch.
How is Twitch Creator Camp Going to Help?
Twitch is going to host a ‘Creator Camp‘ on March 14, 2023, to state the following series of events with a mission to aware their community on protecting themselves from explicit content and its spread on the platform.
Consultation from Experts
Twitch will bring in reliable consultation with the help of safety expert Danielle Keats Citron, a law professor and Vice President of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, and experts from the UK Revenge Explicit Image Helpline. These experts proposed the Creator Camp initiative to aware the community about protecting itself in the digital-driven era by sharing their years of experience and knowledge.
Twitch will also organize a Creator Camp with an expert on NCEI and a manager at the Revenge P*** helpline Zara Ward, a Twitch streamer. She will help the streaming community understand how synthetic NCEI is harmful, how to identify it, and what you should do after discovering it. So don’t forget to tune in on March 14.
Twitch NCEI Policy Updates
Taking immediate steps against the January deepfake incident, Twitch has updated its policy which will be implemented in the upcoming month.
- Adult Sexual Violence and Exploitation policy to make it clearer that intentionally promoting, creating, or sharing synthetic NCEI can result in an indefinite suspension on the first offense.
- Adult Nudity policy to include synthetic NCEI. Even if that NCEI is shown only briefly, or, for example, shown to express your outrage or disapproval of the content, it will be removed, resulting in enforcement.
Why is it Important to Raise Awareness of Deepfake Technology?
The irregular and explicit use of deepfake technology is increasing daily, which is an alarming concern. Getting into the wrong hands can make this technology manipulative for use against politicians or world leaders to spread false messages using their facial features. Therefore, everyone needs to be aware of the dangers and uses of this technology so they can identify it and prevent being affected by it in this technology-driven era.
