Court imposes $343,500 fine for creating deepfake porn of six Australian women

The Federal Court has ordered a man who created fake pornographic images of six high-profile Australian women and uploaded them to a website to pay a penalty of $343,500, or approximately €190,000.

Antonio Rotondo, also known as Anthony and Tony, admitted to posting 12 non-consensual fake nude images between November 2022 and October 2023 on a website called MrDeepFakes.com, which has since been shut down.

According to Justice Erin Longbottom of the Federal Court of Australia in Brisbane, Rotondo failed to remove the photos, meaning they remained available on the website worldwide for almost a year.

The suspect acknowledged that the images were obscene and that he didn’t have permission from the depicted persons to publish them online. Through a video link, Rotondo described the creation and production of deepfake images as “fun.”

According to ABC News, one of the victims told the Federal Court she was “horrified” when she saw fake nude photos of herself appear online.

“Even though it is clearly a fake video, I feel violated, vulnerable, and completely without agency,” she said.

The case was brought to court by the eSafety Commissioner, Australia’s independent regulator to promote online safety.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant called the ruling a “strong message” about the consequences for anyone who perpetrates deepfake image-based abuse.

“​eSafety remains deeply concerned by the non-consensual creation and sharing of explicit deepfake images, which can cause significant psychological and emotional distress,” the supervisor said in a public statement.

The Federal Court ordered the man to pay a fine of $343,500, as well as the eSafety Commissioner’s legal fees.

It’s the first lawsuit involving deepfake porn in Australia.

Deepfake technology has enormous potential, but can also have toxic implications.

For example, deepfakes can be used as a gimmick, like creating viral videos. Deepfake technology is also used in therapy sessions to help people cope with grief or trauma. This is called Deep Therapy.

However, deepfake technology is also utilized to influence public discourse, spread misinformation, and promote cybercrime, such as phishing, sextortion, and even bypassing identification verification services.

It’s important to realize that deepfakes aren’t going anywhere and that educating people about the potential dangers and learning to co-exist with the technology is essential.

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