Deepfakes: University of Kassel researches better protection mechanisms

Deepfakes - image, sound and video content created or manipulated with the help of artificial intelligence - are becoming increasingly widespread due to advancing deep learning processes and are changing the digital communication space. They can violate personal rights, influence political discourse and weaken trust in digital media.

"The aim is to improve the opportunities for exercising fundamental and personal rights in the digital space. To this end, we are examining how effective existing legal regulations are in dealing with deepfakes," says project leader Priv.-Doz. Dr. Christian Geminn from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Kassel.

Partners from the legal, social and technical sciences are working together on the project. They are investigating the social and legal consequences of abusive deepfakes and deriving recommendations for action and suggestions for possible further developments.

The University of Kassel is involved in the Scientific Center for Information Technology Design (ITeG) via the "constitutionally compatible technology design (provet)" group. In particular, it analyzes and evaluates the relevant legal provisions to protect against the misuse of deepfake technologies. From a legal perspective, she is also involved in the planning and implementation of empirical studies on the question of how effectively remedial measures can be enforced for those affected. Based on these results and a combined analysis of the legal framework, proposals for possible regulation will be developed.

Coordinator is the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) in Karlsruhe. Other partners are the University of Tübingen (International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis, ITAS).

The project will run for three years and aims to strengthen the protection of privacy and the effective enforcement of rights in the digital space.

Further project information can be found on the website of the Department of Public Law, IT Law and Environmental Law.

Contact:
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Christian Geminn
Institute for Economic Law
Phone: +49 561 804-6088
Email: c .geminn @uni-kassel.de

Leon Francis
Institute for Economic Law
Phone: +49 561 804-6007
E-mail: l.francis[at]uni-kassel[dot]de

What does this mean in summary?

• Research for legal certainty: In the joint project "DEEP-PRISMA", the University of Kassel is investigating how personal rights in the digital space can be better protected against manipulation by deepfakes.
• Analysis and regulation: The interdisciplinary team is evaluating the effectiveness of existing laws and developing concrete recommendations for policy and regulation in order to curb the spread of abusive AI content.
• Strong funding: The three-year project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space and combines expertise from the legal, social and technical sciences.