Spain issues fine for AI-generated sexual images of minors
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The offender used the faces of real minors in the artificial intelligence-generated images.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Spain fined someone for sharing AI-generated sexual images of minors using real faces, violating EU data protection law.
- The Spanish Data Protection Agency investigated after images circulated in Almendralejo, fining the person €2,000 (reduced to €1,200).
- This is reportedly the first European financial penalty for this type of AI-generated content, setting a precedent.
AI generated
MADRID – Spain’s data protection agency on Nov 6 said it had fined a person for sharing artificial intelligence (AI)-generated sexual images of minors using real faces, in what the Spanish media said was the first case in Europe of a financial penalty for this type of content.
The watchdog opened an investigation in September 2023 after Spanish media outlets reported the creation and circulation of the images in Almendralejo, a town of 30,000 people in the Spanish south-western region of Extremadura.
The person breached the European Union’s data protection law by using the faces of real minors in the AI-generated images and then distributing them, the Spanish Data Protection Agency said in a statement.
“The offender is being punished for disseminating photographs manipulated with artificial intelligence that included the faces of real people,” it said.
The fine of €2,000 (S$3,000) was reduced to €1,200 after the person admitted responsibility and paid voluntarily, the agency said. REUTERS
