Dozens of BN'ers feature in AI manipulated sex videos

'It goes from bad to worse'

According to the newspaper, they include artists, presenters, athletes, politicians and members of the royal family. Sharon Dijksma, Ellie Lust, Hélène Hendriks, Leontine Ruiters, Noa Vahle, Jennifer Hoffman, Olcay Gulsen and Simone Simons, among others, have been victims of sexually explicit deepfakes. These are videos that have been manipulated through artificial intelligence.

Some of the victims were not aware of the existence of these videos. Some of them are considering reporting and taking legal action to take these videos offline. One of them is presenter Sylvana IJsselmuiden. "It's about time this gets big in the media, because it goes from bad to worse. I've already tried to get it taken down," she told AD.

That's easier said than done. The website where the edited sex videos can be found is registered abroad. Finding out who uploaded the videos is also proving to be quite difficult. Some of these videos have already been viewed tens of thousands of times.

Minister calls erotic deepfakes 'sickening and punishable'

Outgoing Justice and Security Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius calls the manipulated sex videos "sickening and punishable. She calls on victims to report it. "It is already punishable and with the Sexual Offenses Act that I am defending today in the Senate, we protect victims even better. This kind of rancid practice should be dealt with!", she says on X.

D66 MP Joost Sneller calls the deepfakes a big problem. "With such fake videos money is made on the backs of victims. These companies and makers should not shirk their responsibility, and people should be protected by removal as soon as possible," the MP said.(1) He requested a debate to debate the issue.

Here's what you can do if you are the victim of a deepfake

The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens 2)emphasizes that one must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG) if they create and share deepfakes outside of personal or domestic circles. The creator must also mention that the video is manipulated.

Anyone who wants to have a deepfake removed should contact the creator, or the person who posted the video online. If they do not take action, you can ask the owner or administrator of the site to remove the video. If even that does not help, victims can file a complaint with the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens.

Finally, aggrieved people can report the crime to the police. Those harmed by having a deepfake online can go to court and seek damages.

They were previously victims of erotic deekfakes

It is not the first time Dutch celebrities have surfaced in erotic deepfakes. The Amsterdam District Court late last year sentenced a 39-year-old man to 180 hours of suspended community service for posting an AI-manipulated sex video of WNL presenter Welmoed Sijtsma online. The judge called the video "shocking and tasteless," with which the maker "seriously violated the sexual autonomy and sexual privacy" of the victim.

Former newsreader Dionne Stax the same thing happened to her. Several years ago, several edited sex videos featuring her face appeared on the Internet. Her lawyer told AD (3)that removing the videos was a hellish and time-consuming job. He also talked about the impact such videos can have on people's lives.

"Such a video can be extremely harmful. Not only for BN'ers, but also for unknown people such as young people or people in important positions such as businessmen or executives. I know of tragic cases of duped young people who eventually walked out of life because the images kept haunting them. Those illustrate how serious this can be," the lawyer said.

(1) https://twitter.com/Sneller/status/1769962229078602145

(2) https://www.autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/themas/internet-slimme-apparaten/beeldmateriaal/deepfakes

(3) https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/manager-woest-na-opduiken-deepfake-pornofilmpje-dionne-stax-aangifte-in-voorbereiding~af9dace5/