The online marketplace’s “top sellers” sell thousands of AI-generated and Photoshopped pornographic images of celebrities.
by Rashi ShrivastavaForbes staff
EThe Bay is filled with thousands of AI-generated and Photoshopped pornographic images of at least 40 celebrities, including Margot Robbie, Selena Gomez, and Jenna Ortega.rear forbes The e-commerce giant notified eBay, removed hundreds of photos, and suspended the seller’s account.
A long-selling shop with more than 400 items included photoshopped nude photos of Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more. Another seller sold hundreds of AI-generated nude images of Jenna Ortega, Margot Robbie, Gal Gadot and others for $6.39.
The platform also hosts AI-generated sexually suggestive images of celebrities. At least five photos of Taylor Swift, including a photo of her in a skimpy Stars and Stripes bikini, have been featured on eBay, where she sells more than 14,000 items and is one of the most popular items online. Sold by “Class Seller” for $5.60. According to the retailer’s page, it is “the most reputable seller.” According to the program’s guidelines, top-rated sellers receive additional benefits from eBay, such as ranking higher in search results and earning financial benefits.
eBay’s recommendation algorithm also recommends “similar sponsored products” to interested shoppers from sellers who pay eBay a percentage of the seller’s sales when the shopper clicks and purchases an item. to introduce. One such vendor, another top seller, sold over 2,000 items on eBay, including fake pornographic images of celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence and Jennifer Aniston. It’s unclear whether some fake pornographic images on eBay were manipulated by AI or another type of software.
“It’s not just the sellers. Companies like eBay also profit from image-based sexual abuse,” said Lina Nealon, executive director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. “They are commodifying women’s bodies, and this is terrible without the consent or knowledge of the people being depicted.”
eBay allows sellers to post nude images (as long as they are listed in the Art and Collectibles category) and AI-generated nude images of fake people. “AI-generated or Photoshopped images of public figures that are nude or sexually suggestive” are prohibited according to our Adult Items Policy. Still, the platform is full of them.
“It’s not just the sellers. Companies like eBay also profit from image-based sexual abuse.”
The company has removed hundreds of photoshopped and AI-generated nude photos of celebrities from its site and banned the sellers, while sexually suggestive images of Taylor Swift that appear to violate company policies AI-generated photos are left alone. A representative for Swift declined to comment.
eBay spokesperson Scott Overland said the company is “actively updating its non-nudity deepfakes policy” to give sellers clarity on what is and isn’t allowed on eBay. He said he is trying to make it happen.
Additionally, spokeswoman Trina Somera said the company uses a combination of “AI technology, professionally trained eBay investigators, and market sweeps” to identify listings that violate eBay’s contraband policies. He said he was deleting it. “Listings that contain AI-generated or Photoshopped adult images of celebrities that violate eBay policies will be blocked or removed. We have detected that you are attempting to list a prohibited item. Users may face consequences, including permanent suspension,” Somera said.
Representatives for Ortega, Gomez, Aniston, Lawrence, Perry, Grande, Robbie and Gadot did not respond to requests for comment.
eBay isn’t the only platform seeing a proliferation of AI-generated pornographic images. Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), and even Etsy. forbes The women first reported are similarly grappling with an onslaught of sexually explicit images generated by AI. In late January, an AI-generated nude photo of Taylor Swift went viral on X and was viewed millions of times on the social media platform. Shortly after, lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, announced the “Explicit Fake Pornography,” which provides victims of non-consensual deepfake porn with a remedy to take action against content creators and distributors. Introduced the Deterring Images and Non-Consent Editing (or DEFIANCE) Act. “Victims of non-consensual porn deepfakes have waited too long for federal legislation to hold perpetrators accountable…Congress must act to show victims will not be left behind. Ocasio-Cortez said in a press release.
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Although there is no federal law to protect victims of deepfake porn, Nealon said three other bills have also been introduced in Congress to address these concerns. Today, Congress held a hearing on how the rise in non-consensual pornographic deepfakes is impacting women and children, and what steps can be taken to reduce harm.
“We really need federal legislation, and we need it now, because, as is often the case, technology is advancing faster than legislators, and the proliferation of AI and deepfakes will accelerate this exponential “We’re seeing an increase,” she said. Forbes.
A search for “celebrity” on eBay returns more than 2.3 million listings, many of which are sexually suggestive or pornographic.
Not only are there thousands of crudely photoshopped nude photos of celebrities on eBay, but there are also autographed “AI” photos of celebrities selling for as high as $10.95. Dozens of “enhancement” images are posted.
The caption for Jennifer Lopez’s nude image reads, “Enjoy the exceptional clarity and breathtaking detail in this AI-enhanced photo,” and includes her signature. It seems that there are. “Every seductive expression, every seductive glance is perfectly preserved, bringing Jennifer Lopez’s unparalleled charm and talent to life in exquisite detail.” Lopez did not respond to a request for comment. .
The problem is widespread. A search for “celebrity” on eBay returns more than 2.3 million listings, many of which are sexually suggestive or pornographic. (The same search on Amazon doesn’t immediately show up AI porn).
Neal said AI-generated pornography is rapidly becoming more widespread, as anyone now has easy access to AI apps and open source software that allow them to undress and get “naked.” “Apple’s app store actually hosts several nudify apps. Last week I found one with a rating of 4 or higher,” she said. “Microsoft GitHub, on the other hand, hosts some of the most notorious deepfake and sexually explicit synthetic material technologies.”
Founded in 1995, eBay will record revenue of $10.1 billion in 2023 and a market capitalization of approximately $26 billion. His online marketplace has 132 million active buyers and 2 billion listings for everything from sneakers and video games to vitamin supplements and coffee tables. In September 2023, eBay launched its own generation AI tool that allows sellers to generate product titles and descriptions after uploading images of the products they want to sell. This tool was built using open source models and large-scale language models from Microsoft Azure OpenAI. The online marketplace also laid off 1,000 people, or 9% of its workforce, in January 2024.
Sophie Maddox, a researcher at the Center for Media at Risk at the University of Pennsylvania, said she is hardly surprised that AI-generated pornographic images have become commonplace on websites across the internet. .
“If you zoom out and look at the long history of the internet, you see that sex sells and sexual images sell. So it’s no wonder that platforms like eBay host such content. I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” Maddox said. “If you’re a famous woman, you can be stripped naked without your consent, and this idea that someone else can profit from your image without your consent is more There’s a broader context, and that trickles down to everyone.”
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