Meloni says deepfake porn videos 'a form of violence against women'

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has condemned deepfake porn videos as a 'form of violence against women' as she appeared in court to demand punishment for the two men who allegedly made fake explicit videos of her and shared them online.    

The 47-year-old, who appeared in court via video-link from Rome on Tuesday said: 'I insist on demanding the punishment of those who are responsible because I consider what they did to be intolerable,' according to Italian news outlet Ansa. 

'This is a form of violence against women. It is intolerable in terms of how these images made me feel.

Allessio Scurosu, 40, and his father Roberto, 74, from Sardinia, are accused of creating a deepfake video that features Meloni, and sharing it to American porn websites. 

Prosecutors said that the footage, which was made in 2020 has been viewed millions of times. 

Meloni, who filed a defamation lawsuit earlier this year against the father and son, is asking for 100,000 euros (or £84,000) in damages, which she plans to donate to a fund to help female victims of domestic violence.

Her lawyers had previously said that the prime minister's reason for pursuing the case was to 'send a message to women who are victims of this kind of abuse of power not to be afraid to press charges'.

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AI experts sign letter demanding action against deepfake videos

The politician also raised her concerns on Tuesday about the way artificial intelligence can be used to produce images that appear to be real. 

Deepfakes are AI-generated media that mimic human voices, images, and videos that can be mistaken as real.

'With the advent of artificial intelligence, if we let the face of some woman to be mounted on the body of another woman, our daughters will find themselves in these situations, which is exactly why I consider it legitimate to wage this war', Meloni said. 

She also noted how she believed there should be more severe laws surrounding deepfakes. 

Meloni is not the only public figure to have explicit deepfakes made of them and shared online for millions to see. 

Female celebrities have been the primary targets of deepfake images since as early as 2018 when Natalie Portman was featured in a video.

Marvel actress Scarlett Johansson was also targeted last year when a deepfake video advertisement promoting Lisa AI surfaced. 

Earlier this year, pornographic deepfake images of singer Taylor Swift went viral on social media after garnering more than 27 million views and 260,000 likes before being taken down. 

In March, Harry Potter star Emma Watson was featured in a deepfake ad on social media where she appears to engage in a sexual act. 

The controversy surrounding the fake porn of Meloni comes as more than 400 AI experts, celebrities, politicians, and activists signed an open letter earlier this year demanding lawmakers regulate the use of generative AI technology to create deepfakes.

The letter, entitled 'Disrupting the Deepfake Supply Chain', argued that the growing number of AI-generated videos are a threat to society due to the involvement of sexual images, child pornography, fraud, and political disinformation.

It also states that deepfake technology is misleading the public, making it harder to discern what is real on the internet, and that it is therefore more important than ever to implement formalised laws 'to protect our ability to recognise real human beings.'