AI is increasingly being misused to create child pornography, e.g Zoom in on the screenResearch has shown. Some images are artificially created, others are based on real images of children or even real child abuse.
Written by Fabian Sigurd Severin, SWR
Thousands of doctored images of children and young people are distributed across the social media platform Instagram under specific hashtags. Many of them were photographed in skimpy lingerie, swimsuits, or in sexual positions. This is what research shows SWR– Investigation format Zoom in on the screen.
Some accounts that share such images are associated with trading, crowdfunding, or community platforms. Images of explicit child sexual abuse created using artificial intelligence (AI) are sometimes distributed. Experts warn that images of abuse generated by artificial intelligence are dangerous: they make investigative work more difficult and could increase the willingness of child molesters to commit real attacks.
Trading images generated by artificial intelligence from Child abuse
Among the associated community platforms Zoom in on the screen– According to research, a Japanese website is sharing explicit AI-generated images of child abuse. It is also known to BKA and, according to user reviews, appears to be used by people with pedophilia disorder to communicate with others.
Many users from there link to a website containing real images of child abuse. This is confirmed by the Internet Watch Foundation, an international child sexual abuse reporting center based in Great Britain.
AI-generated images based on real child abuse are also circulating. This is indicated by user comments within the images generated by artificial intelligence, as well as observations by the Internet Watch Foundation.
Missing Security mechanisms
“People sell access to such images or get paid to produce them,” says Dan Sexton of the British NGO. So far, the organization has found most images of AI-generated child abuse on the dark web. According to Sexton, as the number increases, the risk of more and more of them accessing the open Internet increases. “This is not something that might happen in the future, but it is something that is already happening now.”
Artificial images of pornography are produced for children and young people Zoom in on the screen-According to research, primarily with a version of the AI software Stable Diffusion. Unlike the two major competing AI programs DALL-EAnd the middle of the trip, Which is used to create images, Stable Diffusion is open source software and its code is publicly available. The software version does not include any security mechanisms that prevent, for example, the creation of nude images. This is shown through self-experience Zoom in on the screen-Editorial Board.
Possible overload of the authorities
The BKA does not separately record cases of AI-generated pornography, but classifies the overall risk of pornography to children and young people as high. In 2022, the number of cases increased by 7.4 percent for child pornography and by 32.1 percent for youth pornography. In addition, real, everyday images could serve as the basis for AI-generated pornography. According to the BKA, synthetic images are difficult to distinguish from real ones.
“What I find worrying is that the number of materials available will increase, but above all the quality of the content,” says Senior Prosecutor Markus Hartmann. He heads the Cybercrime Center and Contact Point (ZAC) in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to Hartmann, this development may lead investigative authorities to incorrectly evaluate AI-generated images as new actual abuse and thus reach the limits of their resources.
Amnesty InternationalChild pornography It can provoke perpetrators
But artificially displaying child pornography also poses a risk for people with child sexual exploitation disorders, says Professor Klaus-Michael Beier, director of the Institute for Sexual Sciences and Sexual Medicine at the Charite in Berlin. He also runs Don't Be a Perpetrator in Berlin, a support service for pedophiles.
The problem: As with real child pornography, AI-generated images also distort perception, Pierre says. They trick pedophiles into believing that sexual intercourse between children and adults is possible and that children desire it.
His warning is supported by an international study conducted by the Finnish NGO “Protect Children”. More than 8,000 people consuming child abuse images on the Darknet participated in this campaign. About a third of those surveyed stated that they actually sought to connect with children after seeing the illustrations.
A potential legal loophole in Germany?
In Germany, the distribution, acquisition and possession of pornographic images of children or young people is prohibited according to Article 184b and c of the Criminal Code. But since there is still no case law on the exploitation of children and young people in AI-generated pornography, this creates uncertainty, according to the Minister of Justice of Rhineland-Palatinate, Herbert Merten (FDP): “One problem may be that Simply produce it without distributing it.” „They want to get away with it if they do it with artificial intelligence. If they do it with real children, it's punishable by law.”
The Conference of Justice Ministers therefore asked Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) to set up an expert committee to deal with the new developments, says Merten.
Required under EU law Platform provider
This is what the spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Justice wrote Zoom in on the screen– Demanding the examination of “criminal law instruments” on an ongoing basis. In addition to real images, “pornographic representations of children and young people regularly generated using artificial intelligence” are also punishable. If illegal content is distributed via online platforms such as Instagram or the Japanese site mentioned above, the Digital Services Law will apply. EU law requires platforms to establish reporting procedures and to take action against improper use of their services.
Spokespeople from Instagram and the Japanese community platform are putting themselves out there Zoom in on the screen– Clearly investigate child pornography. Instagram takes action not only against sexually explicit content, but also against profiles, pages or comments that share images of children that do not have a clear sexual connotation, if the captions, hashtags or comments contain signs of inappropriate emotion.
Platforms are insufficiently responsive
Zoom in on the screenHowever, research shows that Instagram and the Japanese site do not adequately comply with the obligation to remove illegal content. During the research, the editorial team reported dozens of Instagram accounts whose owners advertised the sale of real-life pornography to children and young people.
Only a third of accounts were deleted by Instagram within 48 hours. For others, no violation of community guidelines was initially identified. The remaining accounts were not deleted until further notice.
A spokeswoman for the Japanese site wrote that… Zoom in on the screen AI-generated images containing child and youth pornography have been deleted. But even after their answer, similar AI-generated images of child abuse could be found on the community platform.
“In Germany we have appropriate legal framework regulations that can be used to remove something like this from the Internet,” says Rhineland-Palatinate Justice Minister Merten. „Our problem is always bringing the pollutant under control.”
Many perpetrators reside abroad and are therefore difficult to catch. In addition, international cooperation is sometimes difficult. Prosecutor Hartmann sees the problem above all in the fact that it is not easy for platform operators to recognize the corresponding images.
Russia and China demand a buffer zone for nuclear powers
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“China is looking for partners among US adversaries.”
Putin has once again chosen Beijing for his first foreign trip during his new term. Xi Jinping supports the Russian president. “The Chinese buy a lot of raw materials from the Russians, and that should not be underestimated,” says Moscow correspondent Christoph Wanner.
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Vladimir Putin has once again chosen Beijing as his first foreign trip during his new term. Xi Jinping supports the Russian president. In a statement, Beijing and Moscow called for the establishment of some kind of sphere of influence for nuclear powers.
DrThis plan is likely to be aimed primarily at Ukraine’s accession to NATO: Russia and China spoke in a joint declaration in favor of creating a buffer zone for nuclear powers compared to other military alliances.
“Nuclear powers must maintain global strategic stability, respect the principle of equal and indivisible security, and not infringe on each other’s vital interests,” said the joint statement issued by Kremlin President Vladimir Putin and Chinese state and party leader Xi Jinping on Thursday. In particular, “the expansion of military alliances and coalitions and the creation of direct military bridgeheads on the borders of other nuclear powers” should be avoided.
Russia also justified the war in Ukraine by NATO’s expansion eastward, and said it felt threatened. The buffer zone would in effect resemble a Russian sphere of influence, because Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO under this condition. Other former Soviet republics such as Georgia would also be affected by such a buffer zone.
Moscow and Beijing said on Wednesday that the political agreement was an option to resolve the conflict. “Both sides see that a political agreement is the right path to resolving the Ukrainian crisis,” Chinese state and party leader Xi Jinping said Thursday in Beijing during Russian President Putin’s state visit.
China and Russia object to US support for Taiwan
China, a nuclear power, also has a self-interest in securing its influence through a buffer zone. Beijing wants to reunite the island of Taiwan with the mainland, using military means if necessary. It also claims the Taiwan Strait, an international body of water, as its own.
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The two countries also accused the United States of transferring medium-range missiles to Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. “It is about the United States of America creating a global air defense system and deploying its elements in different parts of the world, in the Universe, as well as expanding the potential of high-precision non-nuclear weapons in Europe and the southern part of the Pacific Ocean,” the statement said.
Putin arrived in China on Thursday for a two-day visit. At the beginning of the talks on Thursday, Xi congratulated his „old friend” on his fifth term in office and expressed confidence that Russia’s development would make „great progress” under his leadership.
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping at the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Sino-Russian relations
Source: AFP/Alexander Ryumin
Xi described the relations as conducive to peace. Sino-Russian relations have become stronger and have withstood “the test of the changing international landscape.” The two sides signed an agreement aimed at deepening the existing partnership between the two countries.
Putin, who began another term in office at the beginning of May, traveled with a delegation of senior politicians and business leaders. These include Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, new Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina. Putin is also accompanied by the heads of some of Russia’s most important companies, such as Igor Sechin of the oil company Rosneft, German Gref of Sberbank, and industrialist Oleg Deripaska. Prime Minister Li Qiang was among the Chinese hosts.
Wade Venture (37) staunte nicht schlecht, als er das Rolltor zu einer Lagerbox in Portland (US-Bundesstaat Oregon) öffnete und begann, in den Kisten zu stöbern, die sich dort türmten.
Der Amerikaner hatte die verlassene Einheit bei einer Versteigerung für umgerechnet etwas mehr als 370 Euro ergattert. Dann stellte sich heraus: Der Inhalt war 70 000 Dollar (mehr als 64 000 Euro) wert!
Der Kauf war ein „Blind-Kauf“
Venture hat Erfahrung mit solchen „Blind-Käufen“: Nach eigener Aussage hat er bereits zwischen 400 und 500 Lagerräume gekauft. Und er schlug auch bei diesem zu – ohne zu wissen, was ihn erwarten würde. Doch einen solchen Schatz hatte er noch nie gefunden. Unglaublich: Die Vorbesitzerin der Box hatte Designerkleidung ohne Ende hinterlassen – unbenutzt!
Hunderte Schuhe entdeckte Wade in dem Lagerraum
Foto: action press
Unter den Fundstücken: Schuhe von Luxus-Labels wie Gucci
Foto: action press
Es war unfassbares Glück
Venture gegenüber US-Medien fassungslos: „Es ist selten, dass man eine solche Einheit findet, oft findet man Haushaltsgegenstände oder Müll.“ In der Vergangenheit hatte er den minderwertigen Inhalt seiner „Fundgruben“ oft einfach für wohltätige Zwecke gespendet. Venture weiter: „Die Leute denken, ich mache das schon so lange, dass ich schon alles gesehen habe, aber so eine Einheit habe ich noch nie gefunden.“
Wade zeigt einen der Mäntel aus seiner Fundgrube
Foto: action press
Auch reichlich Handtaschen hatte die Vorbesitzerin in dem Raum gelagert
Foto: action press
Hunderte Paare nagelneuer Schuhe
Unter den Fundstücken in seiner neuesten Schnäppchen-Schatztruhe: Mehr als 400 Paar Schuhe (u.a. von der Luxus-Marke Gucci), Pelzmäntel und Accessoires im Wert von mehreren Tausend Dollar. Viele der Stücke trugen sogar noch die originalen Verkaufsetiketten.
Schuhe, Schuhe, Schuhe! Wade hat damit begonnen, die Ware zu verkaufen
Foto: action press
Besitzerin hatte wohl Problem mit Shopping
Der glückliche Finder: „Normalerweise finde ich Dinge, die zu 30 Prozent neu und zu 70 Prozent gebraucht sind. Aber das hier war alles brandneu.“ Mittlerweile hat er damit angefangen, die Kleidungsstücke zu verkaufen. Allein für einen der Mäntel bekam er 1500 Dollar (rund 1400 Euro), berichtet Venture.
Eine Theorie über die Vorbesitzerin der Lagerbox hat er auch. Venture: „Es ist mehr als wahrscheinlich, dass sie ein Shopping-Problem hatte.“
Und weiter: „Man munkelt, dass sie das vielleicht vor ihrem Mann geheim halten musste.“
DrSlovak MP Lubos Blaha is not exactly known for his soft tones. Even on Wednesday, shortly after learning of an attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico, left-wing populist Blaha, a Fico supporter, had not backed down. “This anger, this anger, this hatred: this is your job today,” he told Slovak TV cameras. “The opposition, the progressives and the liberal media. “We are full of emotions,” Blaha said. The fact that FICO is unpopular with all segments of the population is due, among other things, to the planned judicial and media reform.
Milan Nick, an expert on Eastern Central Europe at the German Foreign Policy Association, is not surprised by this reaction. “It does not surprise me that Blaha, known for such rhetoric, would say this. But so far it has been an exception, as many politicians from various parties, including Fico Smer’s party, have expressed their dissatisfaction and called for calm and caution.
Robert Fico, here in Budapest in January
Source: Associated Press/Denis Erdos
In fact, Liberal President Zuzana Čaputová gave a well-received speech. She clearly condemned the attack and wished „that Robert Fico would have a lot of strength at this critical moment so that he could recover from the attack. Peter Pellegrini, the president-elect, made a similar statement.” Pellegrini comes from the government coalition led by Robert Fico and was elected president in April. However, he will not be sworn in until June.
Meanwhile, 59-year-old Fiko is still receiving treatment in hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica. His deputy, Thomas Taraba, told the BBC late on Wednesday evening that he appeared to have survived an emergency operation after the attack and was no longer in a life-threatening situation. Slovak media reported early Thursday morning that Fico had regained consciousness.
After a cabinet meeting on Wednesday in the town of Handelova, when Fico went out into the street, a 71-year-old man fired four to five shots at him. The suspected perpetrator was arrested at the scene and the Prime Minister was airlifted to hospital by helicopter.
Government officials assume a „political motive.” There are many photos and video recordings of the attack itself. Slovak news platform aktuality.sk She also stated that the suspected killer was legally in possession of a gun. The 71-year-old was not undergoing psychiatric treatment. These rumors have been reported previously.
There is also speculation on social media in Slovakia about the possible politicization of the alleged killer. This intensifies the already heated mood in the country, which reached two peaks during the parliamentary elections in September last year and the presidential elections in April this year.
Security forces arrested the suspected shooter at the scene
Source: Agence France-Presse/-
Both elections were accompanied by an aggressive mood and disinformation campaigns on social media, as well as questionable rhetoric by the actors involved. Fico’s Smer Party considers itself a social democratic party, but in the eyes of many observers it is characterized as a left-wing nationalist. It became the strongest force in the recent parliamentary elections, with 22.9 percent of the votes. In October 2023, Fico was able to assume the reins of government in a coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Halas and the far right.
He is considered a veteran of Slovak politics, having ruled from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018. His companion Peter Pellegrini won the presidential election in April. Fico polarized the country for several months and thousands of Slovaks took to the streets against his policies.
There are major concerns among many Slovaks about an authoritarian state restructuring similar to what happened in Hungary or Poland. The Slovak Parliament approved a first legislative package in April as part of a controversial judicial restructuring process. The law provides, among other things, for the dissolution of the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office or the reduction of penalties for serious crimes such as murder.
The EU Commission has already expressed concern that the so-called judicial reform could violate EU law. In addition, there are verbal attacks on journalists from politicians – and concrete plans to control the media. Public television station RTVS is set to be transformed into a state broadcaster over which the government will have enormous influence. A similar law could be passed in June.
Before the Cabinet meeting in Handelova, Fico received local residents. After the meeting he was shot
Source: German Press Agency/Radovan Stoklasa
The NGO Transparency Law also made international headlines. If an organization receives €5,000 or more from abroad in one year, it should in the future be classified as an “organisation receiving support from abroad”. Critics fear the government will ban organizations it doesn’t like as a result.
Fico also reoriented Slovakia’s foreign policy. He himself and other members of the government have loudly criticized the course of the European allies towards Russia and Ukraine. Fico criticizes Russian sanctions as well as arms shipments to Ukraine. His government stopped supplying weapons from Slovak stockpiles to Ukraine. The partly pro-Russian policy of Slovakia, a member of the European Union and NATO, is also worrying diplomats and politicians in Brussels and other European capitals.
It is striking that Slovak society now seems to be uniting and that politicians from different political camps are strongly condemning the attack. Religious organizations, bishops and Islamic associations also commented on this. Expert Nick said, „The assassination attempt on Fico represents a turning point for Slovak politics, regardless of whether he will be able to take office again or not.”
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Another turning point for Slovakia was the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova in 2018. Through his research, Kuciak uncovered organized crime connections in Slovak politics. He worked for aktuality.sk, a news portal of Ringier Axel Springer Slovakia, a joint venture between Axel Springer SE (including WELT and “Bild”) and Swiss Ringier AG.
The murder of Kuciak and his fiancée attracted much attention in Slovakia and internationally. Fico, who was prime minister at the time, was forced to resign after mass protests following the killings. Even then, Fico’s policies were radically rejected by many Slovaks, but he always enjoyed a stable fan base, as demonstrated by his recent electoral victory in 2023.
However, expert Nick does not see a direct link between the assassination attempt on Fico and the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his wife. “This aggression against politicians and the cruelty of the conflict is not just a Slovak phenomenon. We see something like this everywhere in Europe, and unfortunately also attacks on politicians. Look at Germany: from the assassination attempt on Wolfgang Schäuble many years ago to the recent attacks on politicians,” says Nick.
Speculation about the paramilitary organization
Despite voices calling for calm in Slovakia, observers are also concerned that the government camp, after a brief period of calm, will use the attack to further divide society and consolidate its power. Blaha statements are the first sign. Fake news is also likely to spread quickly on social media, and disinformation campaigns can be launched.
The evening after the attack on Fiko, a report was published in Slovak online media that was likely to increase speculation about the background of the crime: the famous Hungarian investigative journalist Száblocs Bánje shared old photos of the alleged killer, which had a connection to a loyalist Slovak paramilitary women’s organization. For Russia, it is called the „Slovak Brotherhood”. Photos from 2016 are considered original.
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“However, in the next few days we are likely to see an increase in disinformation campaigns and the like on social networks. What happened is a reason for this,” says Milan Nick. But a lot will depend on whether Fico will survive the attack.
