Initiatives to fight deepfakes
6.9.2018
Question for written answer E-004536-18
to the Commission
Rule 130
Jana Žitňanská (ECR)
Deepfakes, a technology developed to create applications that make it possible to replace the faces of people actually appearing in any video with any other face, is currently a source of great concern, not only in the US, where its use is increasingly widespread despite attempts to ban such videos, but also in the EU, where the phenomenon is similarly beginning to appear in the political arena.
Although ‘face confusion’ created by deepfake technology has until recently been clear and easily recognisable, it is expected that the gradual refinement of deepfakes will make them absolutely indistinguishable from genuine videos. Experts fear that deepfakes will become a dangerous tool for spreading fake news and misinformation, and that they will have the potential to significantly interfere with political developments in individual countries.
In this context, then, can the Commission say:
- 1.Does it have information on the development and dissemination of fake news and misinformation created by deepfake technology?
- 2.What specific steps does it plan to take in the fight against deepfakes to protect the European Parliament elections in 2019 against the effects of fake news, and to protect people whose identity is abused by the unlawful use of their face by deepfakes technology?