Deepfakes may be outlawed

Image and voice altering technology a violation of portrait rights

BEIJING: China’s top legislative body raised concerns about a new AI technology that can digitally swap people’s faces.

The technology, known as deepfake, synthesises footage of human images based on artificial intelligence using a combination of existing and source videos to create a video depicting people doing or saying things that never occurred.

According to a legal amendment deliberated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the use of the technology could violate individual portrait rights.

The amendment, written as a section of the country’s civil code, clarifies that no individual or organisation may distort a person’s picture or mimic voices with technology.

“We added the prohibitions because some authorities pointed out that the improper use of AI technology not only damages people’s portrait (personality) rights, but also harms national security and the public interest,” said Shen Chunyao, a senior legislator of the NPC’s Constitution and Law Committee.

In February, the face of female actress Athena Chu was replaced with the face of another star Yang Mi in a television series with aid the of AI technology.

The face-swapping video quickly stirred up social media, bringing netizens’ laughter as well as concern.

“If some people improperly use the technology, which has been used often in film-making, online risks will emerge,” said Jue Ao, a cybersecurity specialist at Alibaba.

In November 2017, Jue’s team found that a group of hackers had attacked a driver’s license database of nearly 100 people online and then used the victims’ information to commit fraud through 3D synthesis software.

Wang Liming, a civil law professor at Renmin University of China, said that the rapid development of AI technology has brought about a big challenge in the practice of law, “so it is necessary to provide a solution through legislation”.

In addition to regulating the use of the technology, the amendment highlights the importance of protecting the personal information of youths, ordering individuals and organisations that attempt to collect said information to first secure permission from their guardians.

Additionally, if a government department uses private information to do its job, it must neither reveal the personal information nor illegally provide it to others, the amendment said.

In China, a law amendment usually goes through three reviews at the nation’s top legislature before it is voted on. — China Daily/Asia News Network