ABSTRACT
Technological advancements have begun to blur the line between the virtual and real, bringing about more threats to the safety and well-being of children. One such is creating virtual child sexual abuse material (CSAM) using deepfake technology. Another significant and well-established strand of creating overtly sexual content is hentai, in its meaning of anime and manga pornography. In early 2018, the online platform Reddit changed its rules on simulated pornography and sexually suggestive content involving minors after mainstream media raised deepfakes-related concerns. Based on a large dataset (N = 13293) of Reddit comments collected on the topic, this article takes a qualitative approach to examine Reddit users' views and attitudes about the sexualization of minors (SOM) in deepfakes and hentai. The analysis captured five major themes in the discussion over SOM: illegality, art, promoting pedophilia, increase in offending and general harmfulness. Furthermore, the discussion was underscored by the central question of who is a minor, which feeds the already problematic definitional ambiguity and keeps the perceived discursive boundaries of the illegality of SOM in flux.
ABSTRACT
This opinion article, by Channarong Intahchomphoo and Christian Tschirhart, explains the evolution of data and how it becomes useful information and then insightful knowledge. In the current era we are witnessing a high increase in the development and adaptation of artificial intelligence (AI) in society. AI technologies have the ability to process large volumes of data and information to help in finding insightful knowledge. However, AI is not perfect and there are ethical concerns, particularly when unintended negative consequences result from it;this paper also discusses ethical concerns currently confronting our society related to the freedom of expression and hate speech issues with AI. Importantly, this paper notes that governments are working to find ways to regulate social media and internet companies through legal channels as governments are no longer confident in the ability of social media and internet companies to self-regulate and thereby to guide society on what content is right or wrong. This is a critical new development in internet and AI governance that information and technology professionals and public and private organizations need to monitor closely the situation as it evolves.
ABSTRACT
Pornography has become a major problem of today cyberspace, extended through the Internet at the planetary scale. The phenomenon has deep social and economic implications affecting a huge number of children under the age of eighteen who are subjects of sexual abuse and exploitation. Child pornography generally refers to images or films depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child. Because child pornography involves children, the test of acceptability is much stricter than for regular pornography, as consent cannot be given either by the child or guardian. Child welfare professionals are worried that paedophiles will use the third-generation mobile technology to access child sex sites, take pictures of sex with children and trade in images of abuse.