A 73-year-old Dutchman is suspected of creating fake pornographic clips of celebrities and members of the Dutch parliament.
A 73-year-old man from Noord-Holland has been identified as a suspect in a pornography scandal using Deepfake technology targeting Dutch celebrities and politicians. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), these clips appeared on the recently shut down MrDeepFakes website and featured the faces of around 80 Dutch public figures, including parliamentarians and mayors, superimposed onto pornographic clips using artificial intelligence.
The investigation began last year after a report by the AD newspaper revealed the extent of the content on the site, which was so realistic that it was difficult to distinguish it from real clips. At least 20 Dutch politicians and celebrities filed criminal complaints following this scandal.
Authorities believe that the 73-year-old suspect created some of these fake clips. The prosecution is currently reviewing the case file and will soon decide whether to initiate arrest proceedings.
The MrDeepFakes website was shut down worldwide last May. It is believed that the operator of the site is a Canadian pharmacist. The political parties BBB, VVD, and GroenLinks-PvdA are pushing for his extradition to the Netherlands to stand trial there.
The public prosecutor confirmed that the focus of the investigation at this time is primarily on identifying and prosecuting the individuals who created or uploaded the fake pornographic clips. This scandal has reignited the debate in the Netherlands about the urgent need to tighten laws to combat sexual content generated by artificial intelligence.