Twitter bans 'deepfake' AI-generated porn

The fight against the spread of "deepfake" porn has another ally: Twitter. The social network has told Motherboard that it's banning accounts that are either the original posters of AI-edited videos or dedicated to posting these clips. These face swaps violate the company's "intimate media" policy, which bars any sexually explicit photos or videos produced or shared without someone's consent. It's on par with revenge porn, in that regard.

The stance echoes those of Pornhub, Discord and Gfycat, all of whom have said they won't allow deepfakes and other nonconsensual porn. There's no guarantee that it can completely eliminate these posts, but its stance is at least clear. Twitter is in an unusual position among larger social networks in that it allows sexually explicit material as long as it's flagged properly -- Facebook doesn't allow it in the first place.

However well Twitter enforces the rules, it might not be enough. Reddit's deepfakes subreddit, where the AI-built porn effectively began, is still running and has tens of thousands of subscribers. It may be difficult to thwart the practice on Twitter and elsewhere if the necessary tools (and many videos) are widely available. We've asked Reddit for comment on the group and will let you know if it responds. For now, though, a key part of the problem remains unsolved.