An East Texas man was arrested Friday on suspicion of using artificial intelligence to create deepfake pornography depicting more than 50 individuals, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In the span of about one year, Arturo Hernandez, 20, of Bedias, in Grimes County, allegedly published 113 online albums of pornographic content, each containing AI-generated videos of public figures and private citizens engaging in sexually explicit actions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. His online content has been viewed close to a million times.
Hernandez and a New Jersey man, Cornelius Shannon, 51, were charged on Friday with violating the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which prohibits the nonconsensual publication of AI-generated deepfake porn. If convicted, they could face up two years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
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“The individuals arrested today are being charged for their alleged roles in a scheme to create and distribute vile deepfake pornography using artificial intelligence,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle said in a statement. “The use of this emerging technology to victimize individuals is not innovative – it is criminal and will be pursued with the full force of the law.”
According to the criminal complaint, Hernandez allegedly posted AI-generated porn using still images of real people, including entertainment figures, female politicians and private citizens.
In one instance, Hernandez allegedly posted an album of yearbook-style portraits of female students which then morphed into videos of those students naked or in sexual positions. Another album contained an AI-generated video of a private citizen having sexual intercourse with a man while wearing her graduation gown, federal prosecutors said.
Some of the images in Hernandez’s albums matched images that private individuals whom Hernandez followed on Instagram had posted on social media, federal prosecutors said.
Hernandez will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
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This article originally published at East Texas man accused of creating AI deepfake porn viewed 1 million times.
