TEDSummit 2019
Danielle Citron: How deepfakes undermine truth and threaten democracy
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The use of deepfake technology to manipulate video and audio for malicious purposes -- whether it's to stoke violence or defame politicians and journalists -- is becoming a real threat. As these tools become more accessible and their products more realistic, how will they shape what we believe about the world? In a portentous talk, law professor Danielle Citron reveals how deepfakes magnify our distrust -- and suggests approaches to safeguarding the truth.
Danielle Citron - Law professor, deepfake scholar
Danielle Citron writes, speaks and teaches her academic loves: privacy, free speech and civil rights. Through her work with privacy organizations, she also puts these ideas into practice. Full bio
Danielle Citron writes, speaks and teaches her academic loves: privacy, free speech and civil rights. Through her work with privacy organizations, she also puts these ideas into practice. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
[This talk contains mature content]
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Rana Ayyub is a journalist in India
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whose work has exposed
government corruption
government corruption
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and human rights violations.
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And over the years,
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she's gotten used to vitriol
and controversy around her work.
and controversy around her work.
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But none of it could have prepared her
for what she faced in April 2018.
for what she faced in April 2018.
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She was sitting in a café with a friend
when she first saw it:
when she first saw it:
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a two-minute, 20-second video
of her engaged in a sex act.
of her engaged in a sex act.
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And she couldn't believe her eyes.
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She had never made a sex video.
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But unfortunately, thousands
upon thousands of people
upon thousands of people
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would believe it was her.
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I interviewed Ms. Ayyub
about three months ago,
about three months ago,
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in connection with my book
on sexual privacy.
on sexual privacy.
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I'm a law professor, lawyer
and civil rights advocate.
and civil rights advocate.
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So it's incredibly frustrating
knowing that right now,
knowing that right now,
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law could do very little to help her.
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And as we talked,
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she explained that she should have seen
the fake sex video coming.
the fake sex video coming.
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She said, "After all, sex is so often used
to demean and to shame women,
to demean and to shame women,
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especially minority women,
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and especially minority women
who dare to challenge powerful men,"
who dare to challenge powerful men,"
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as she had in her work.
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The fake sex video went viral in 48 hours.
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All of her online accounts were flooded
with screenshots of the video,
with screenshots of the video,
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with graphic rape and death threats
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and with slurs about her Muslim faith.
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Online posts suggested that
she was "available" for sex.
she was "available" for sex.
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And she was doxed,
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which means that her home address
and her cell phone number
and her cell phone number
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were spread across the internet.
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The video was shared
more than 40,000 times.
more than 40,000 times.
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Now, when someone is targeted
with this kind of cybermob attack,
with this kind of cybermob attack,
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the harm is profound.
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Rana Ayyub's life was turned upside down.
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For weeks, she could hardly eat or speak.
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She stopped writing and closed
all of her social media accounts,
all of her social media accounts,
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which is, you know, a tough thing to do
when you're a journalist.
when you're a journalist.
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And she was afraid to go outside
her family's home.
her family's home.
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What if the posters
made good on their threats?
made good on their threats?
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The UN Council on Human Rights
confirmed that she wasn't being crazy.
confirmed that she wasn't being crazy.
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It issued a public statement saying
that they were worried about her safety.
that they were worried about her safety.
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What Rana Ayyub faced was a deepfake:
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machine-learning technology
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that manipulates or fabricates
audio and video recordings
audio and video recordings
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to show people doing and saying things
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that they never did or said.
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Deepfakes appear authentic
and realistic, but they're not;
and realistic, but they're not;
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they're total falsehoods.
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Although the technology
is still developing in its sophistication,
is still developing in its sophistication,
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it is widely available.
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Now, the most recent attention
to deepfakes arose,
to deepfakes arose,
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as so many things do online,
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with pornography.
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In early 2018,
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someone posted a tool on Reddit
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to allow users to insert faces
into porn videos.
into porn videos.
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And what followed was a cascade
of fake porn videos
of fake porn videos
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featuring people's favorite
female celebrities.
female celebrities.
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And today, you can go on YouTube
and pull up countless tutorials
and pull up countless tutorials
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with step-by-step instructions
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on how to make a deepfake
on your desktop application.
on your desktop application.
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And soon we may be even able
to make them on our cell phones.
to make them on our cell phones.
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Now, it's the interaction
of some of our most basic human frailties
of some of our most basic human frailties
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and network tools
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that can turn deepfakes into weapons.
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So let me explain.
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As human beings, we have
a visceral reaction to audio and video.
a visceral reaction to audio and video.
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We believe they're true,
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on the notion that
of course you can believe
of course you can believe
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what your eyes and ears are telling you.
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And it's that mechanism
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that might undermine our shared
sense of reality.
sense of reality.
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Although we believe deepfakes
to be true, they're not.
to be true, they're not.
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And we're attracted
to the salacious, the provocative.
to the salacious, the provocative.
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We tend to believe
and to share information
and to share information
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that's negative and novel.
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And researchers have found that online
hoaxes spread 10 times faster
hoaxes spread 10 times faster
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than accurate stories.
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Now, we're also drawn to information
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that aligns with our viewpoints.
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Psychologists call that tendency
"confirmation bias."
"confirmation bias."
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And social media platforms
supercharge that tendency,
supercharge that tendency,
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by allowing us to instantly
and widely share information
and widely share information
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that accords with our viewpoints.
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Now, deepfakes have the potential to cause
grave individual and societal harm.
grave individual and societal harm.
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So, imagine a deepfake
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that shows American soldiers
in Afganistan burning a Koran.
in Afganistan burning a Koran.
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You can imagine that that deepfake
would provoke violence
would provoke violence
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against those soldiers.
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And what if the very next day
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there's another deepfake that drops,
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that shows a well-known imam
based in London
based in London
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praising the attack on those soldiers?
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We might see violence and civil unrest,
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not only in Afganistan
and the United Kingdom,
and the United Kingdom,
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but across the globe.
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And you might say to me,
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"Come on, Danielle, that's far-fetched."
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But it's not.
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We've seen falsehoods spread
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on WhatsApp and other
online message services
online message services
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lead to violence
against ethnic minorities.
against ethnic minorities.
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And that was just text --
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imagine if it were video.
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Now, deepfakes have the potential
to corrode the trust that we have
to corrode the trust that we have
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in democratic institutions.
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So, imagine the night before an election.
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There's a deepfake showing
one of the major party candidates
one of the major party candidates
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gravely sick.
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The deepfake could tip the election
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and shake our sense
that elections are legitimate.
that elections are legitimate.
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Imagine if the night before
an initial public offering
an initial public offering
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of a major global bank,
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there was a deepfake
showing the bank's CEO
showing the bank's CEO
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drunkenly spouting conspiracy theories.
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The deepfake could tank the IPO,
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and worse, shake our sense
that financial markets are stable.
that financial markets are stable.
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So deepfakes can exploit and magnify
the deep distrust that we already have
the deep distrust that we already have
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in politicians, business leaders
and other influential leaders.
and other influential leaders.
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They find an audience
primed to believe them.
primed to believe them.
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And the pursuit of truth
is on the line as well.
is on the line as well.
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Technologists expect
that with advances in AI,
that with advances in AI,
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soon it may be difficult if not impossible
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to tell the difference between
a real video and a fake one.
a real video and a fake one.
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So how can the truth emerge
in a deepfake-ridden marketplace of ideas?
in a deepfake-ridden marketplace of ideas?
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Will we just proceed along
the path of least resistance
the path of least resistance
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and believe what we want to believe,
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truth be damned?
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And not only might we believe the fakery,
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we might start disbelieving the truth.
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We've already seen people invoke
the phenomenon of deepfakes
the phenomenon of deepfakes
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to cast doubt on real evidence
of their wrongdoing.
of their wrongdoing.
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We've heard politicians say of audio
of their disturbing comments,
of their disturbing comments,
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"Come on, that's fake news.
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You can't believe what your eyes
and ears are telling you."
and ears are telling you."
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And it's that risk
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that professor Robert Chesney and I
call the "liar's dividend":
call the "liar's dividend":
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the risk that liars will invoke deepfakes
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to escape accountability
for their wrongdoing.
for their wrongdoing.
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So we've got our work cut out for us,
there's no doubt about it.
there's no doubt about it.
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And we're going to need
a proactive solution
a proactive solution
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from tech companies, from lawmakers,
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law enforcers and the media.
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And we're going to need
a healthy dose of societal resilience.
a healthy dose of societal resilience.
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So now, we're right now engaged
in a very public conversation
in a very public conversation
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about the responsibility
of tech companies.
of tech companies.
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And my advice to social media platforms
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has been to change their terms of service
and community guidelines
and community guidelines
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to ban deepfakes that cause harm.
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That determination,
that's going to require human judgment,
that's going to require human judgment,
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and it's expensive.
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But we need human beings
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to look at the content
and context of a deepfake
and context of a deepfake
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to figure out if it is
a harmful impersonation
a harmful impersonation
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or instead, if it's valuable
satire, art or education.
satire, art or education.
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So now, what about the law?
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Law is our educator.
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It teaches us about
what's harmful and what's wrong.
what's harmful and what's wrong.
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And it shapes behavior it deters
by punishing perpetrators
by punishing perpetrators
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and securing remedies for victims.
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Right now, law is not up to
the challenge of deepfakes.
the challenge of deepfakes.
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Across the globe,
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we lack well-tailored laws
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that would be designed to tackle
digital impersonations
digital impersonations
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that invade sexual privacy,
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that damage reputations
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and that cause emotional distress.
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What happened to Rana Ayyub
is increasingly commonplace.
is increasingly commonplace.
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Yet, when she went
to law enforcement in Delhi,
to law enforcement in Delhi,
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she was told nothing could be done.
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And the sad truth is
that the same would be true
that the same would be true
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in the United States and in Europe.
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So we have a legal vacuum
that needs to be filled.
that needs to be filled.
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My colleague Dr. Mary Anne Franks and I
are working with US lawmakers
are working with US lawmakers
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to devise legislation that would ban
harmful digital impersonations
harmful digital impersonations
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that are tantamount to identity theft.
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And we've seen similar moves
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in Iceland, the UK and Australia.
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But of course, that's just a small piece
of the regulatory puzzle.
of the regulatory puzzle.
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Now, I know law is not a cure-all. Right?
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It's a blunt instrument.
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And we've got to use it wisely.
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It also has some practical impediments.
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You can't leverage law against people
you can't identify and find.
you can't identify and find.
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And if a perpetrator lives
outside the country
outside the country
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where a victim lives,
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then you may not be able to insist
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that the perpetrator
come into local courts
come into local courts
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to face justice.
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And so we're going to need
a coordinated international response.
a coordinated international response.
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Education has to be part
of our response as well.
of our response as well.
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Law enforcers are not
going to enforce laws
going to enforce laws
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they don't know about
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and proffer problems
they don't understand.
they don't understand.
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In my research on cyberstalking,
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I found that law enforcement
lacked the training
lacked the training
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to understand the laws available to them
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and the problem of online abuse.
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And so often they told victims,
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"Just turn your computer off.
Ignore it. It'll go away."
Ignore it. It'll go away."
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And we saw that in Rana Ayyub's case.
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She was told, "Come on,
you're making such a big deal about this.
you're making such a big deal about this.
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It's boys being boys."
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And so we need to pair new legislation
with efforts at training.
with efforts at training.
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And education has to be aimed
on the media as well.
on the media as well.
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Journalists need educating
about the phenomenon of deepfakes
about the phenomenon of deepfakes
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so they don't amplify and spread them.
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And this is the part
where we're all involved.
where we're all involved.
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Each and every one of us needs educating.
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We click, we share, we like,
and we don't even think about it.
and we don't even think about it.
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We need to do better.
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We need far better radar for fakery.
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So as we're working
through these solutions,
through these solutions,
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there's going to be
a lot of suffering to go around.
a lot of suffering to go around.
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Rana Ayyub is still wrestling
with the fallout.
with the fallout.
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She still doesn't feel free
to express herself on- and offline.
to express herself on- and offline.
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And as she told me,
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she still feels like there are thousands
of eyes on her naked body,
of eyes on her naked body,
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even though, intellectually,
she knows it wasn't her body.
she knows it wasn't her body.
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And she has frequent panic attacks,
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especially when someone she doesn't know
tries to take her picture.
tries to take her picture.
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"What if they're going to make
another deepfake?" she thinks to herself.
another deepfake?" she thinks to herself.
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And so for the sake of
individuals like Rana Ayyub
individuals like Rana Ayyub
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and the sake of our democracy,
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we need to do something right now.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Danielle Citron - Law professor, deepfake scholarDanielle Citron writes, speaks and teaches her academic loves: privacy, free speech and civil rights. Through her work with privacy organizations, she also puts these ideas into practice.
Why you should listen
As a law professor, Danielle Citron puts her commitment to civil rights into practice. She is vice president of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, a nonprofit combatting privacy-invading online abuse that undermines civil rights and civil liberties.
When Citron began addressing cyber harassment ten years ago, it was commonly believed that it was "no big deal," and that any legal response would "break the internet." Those attitudes -- and the heartbreaking stories of victims who were terrorized, silenced and economically damaged -- drove Citron to write her 2014 book, Hate Crimes in Cyberspace. Ever since, she has been working with lawmakers, law enforcers, and tech companies to make online spaces and tools available to all on equal terms. Her latest book project focuses on the importance of sexual privacy and how we should protect it.
Danielle Citron | Speaker | TED.com