“As generative AI broke on the scene, everyone was speculating about where the first real harms would come. And I think we have the answer,” the Biden administration’s chief science adviser Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy told The Associated Press in May.

The call from the White House came even before it was reported in June that deepfake porn production increased 464% last year.

TAKE IT DOWN ACT – GOOD FIRST STEP

Lawmakers have introduced legislation that could hold online platforms accountable for the publishing and distribution of nonconsensual AI images that contain the faces of real individuals.

The Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks (TAKE IT DOWN) Act would criminalize the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including AI-generated NCII – deepfake pornography – while it requires social media and similar websites to have in place procedures to remove such content upon notification from a victim.

“The Take it Down Act is a step in the right direction, and more will need to be done. Despite the existence of laws in nearly every state to protect against NCII, the effectiveness of these laws varies significantly,” explained Theresa Payton, founder and CEO of cybersecurity provider Fortalice Solutions.

“The inconsistency leads to the victim suffering mental anguish as the imagery propagates nearly unabated,” Payton told ClearanceJobs. “The burden lies squarely on the victim’s shoulders and social media platforms require laborious, tedious processes for victims to remove harmful images from the internet, perpetuating their trauma.”

LAYERS OF LEGISLATION COULD BE REQUIRED

Several states have also adopted legislation that could criminalize the publishing of such content, but lawmakers are struggling to keep up with advances in the technology.

“More needs to be done rather than relying on other federal laws that may address some of the conduct surrounding these crimes.  There needs to be greater clarity as AI technology continues to evolve, making it easier to create revenge porn,” suggested technology industry analyst Susan Schreiner of C4 Trends.

“Bills are advancing in several states such as Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, and Ohio.  While, several bills have been introduced in Congress, including the AI Labeling Act of 2023 and the DEFIANCE Act of 2024, neither has moved out of committee,” Schreiner told ClearanceJobs.

She further suggested that the popularity of singer Taylor Swift might finally move the needle. The spread of fabricated sexually explicit images of the pop star had been seen as a catalyst for greater policy action at the federal level.

“Given current politics and polarization that might be overly optimistic,” Schreiner continued.

GOING AFTER THE PUBLISHERS

The technology to create convincing deepfakes isn’t likely to go away, so instead, it may be necessary to combat the publishing of the content.

“Technology platforms and hosts should not allow the distribution of NCII,” said Payton. “They should be required to deploy automatic detection, removal, and blocking. Each technology platform would ideally have a governance committee that oversees the number of reported incidents and the average time to resolution. This should be required reporting to the public.”

This may not entirely curtain it, but it could be an important step in the right direction.

“When imagery slips through the automated detection and removal, the platforms should be required to provide a case number to the victim and if the situation is prolonged, access to a contact center and a case manager to ensure that the images are removed completely,” added Payton.

“The worst offenders, such as adult imagery hosts, use the law to their advantage to make takedowns extremely drawn out and costly for the victim,” Payton continued. “The new law should be explicit and include severe penalties for non-compliance.”

While physical space is still very important – the new rules of engagement for retailers revolve around implementing a multi-channel strategy and making the online experience as dynamic and personal as possible. Retailers are tapping into social media to grow their reach, and using measurement and analytics to inform their businesses. During the 2011 holiday season some of the largest retailers – Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Walmart – found ways to increase the number of consumers who clicked from social media sites to their retail sites, according to social marketing vendor Buddy Media and Web measurement firm comScore.

In part, this growth was fueled by holiday promotions on social media targeted to fans – and had a viral impact reaching friends of fans, which multiplied the number of impressions. Target had the highest lift in a comparison of the weeks ending Oct. 19 and Nov. 30 – the number of its posts that were shared increased 3.5 times during the corresponding week the month earlier. Walmart was close behind at 3.4 times, Best Buy had a lift of 2.7 times and Amazon posed a jump of 2.2 times. This sharing behavior is increasingly valuable. For instance, using an average cost per thousand impressions, or CPM, of $3.55, Walmart earned $417,000 worth of impressions.

Social Work

The mega retailer’s innovative new research lab called @WalMartLabs ties together social and mobile channels with in-store shopping. During the holiday season it launched Shopycat, a Facebook app that with permission provides gift suggestions based on your friends’ profiles. Another in-store app is in development to encourage customers to use their mobile phones to interact with other shoppers to receive information about products, opinions and deals. The Shopycat app builds on what Walmart execs call ‘social genome’ technology, that it acquired when it bought Kosmix, a Silicon Valley company that specializes in social data mining for targeted marketing. Walmart also acquired OneRiot, a Boulder, Colo., firm that has developed social commerce technology. The slogan of @WalMartLabs sums up this new direction, ‘Social+Mobile+Retail.’

American Express also aggressively engages in social media programs with Facebook and foursquare and has turned Twitter #hashtags into national merchant offers. When card members tweet using special hashtags, savings are loaded to their synched cards with no coupons needed. When card members use their synched card for purchases, the savings are delivered via a statement credit. Participating merchants include Best Buy and Zappos. American Express also provides detailed reporting to merchants about the spending behavior of their customers.

Amex is also helping small businesses succeed with its program called “Social Media Show + Tell.” Through a series of videos hosted on its LinkedIn Business Knowledge Share group, experts explain how their social media tools can empower business owners.

Changing Dynamic

According to Accenture, 73 percent of mobile-powered shoppers prefer peering into their phones for assistance over talking to a retail clerk. Mobile apps such as Red Laser, Edocrab, Scope, ShopSavvy and Scandit are changing the customer/retailer relationship as consumers compare prices from multiple sources, while still in the store. According to market research firm ClickIQ, 29 percent of consumers who use a smartphone to research a product while in a store end up purchasing the item online, often from Amazon.com.

Retailers are starting to fight back. Best Buy, for instance, has added QR codes to store items for customers looking for more product information. Once they engage with the QR codes, it keeps them in the Best Buy system to provide more information.

App developers such as foursquare, Klout, Shazam, Shopkick, SCVNGR and Zynga are now partners for interactive campaigns as technology changes how and where consumers purchase products. Retailers are exploring how social networking partnerships can help increase brand interactions like micro-sites that engage shopper feedback and personalized promotions to draw shoppers back into stores to build brand-loyalty.

Retailers are striking a balance between reaching customers on their terms, engagement through social media, and multi-channel marketing strategies.