So-called deepfakes are more common on the internet. For example, politicians are retouched with digital manipulation in situations they were never in. The aim is often to harm or blackmail people. The government now wants to take stronger action against the spread of deepfakes to prevent disinformation through forgery. That is why a national action plan was adopted in the Council of Ministers. Deepfakes are “a stepping stone to fake news,” Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) said on Wednesday after the meeting.
Karner emphasized that deepfakes, which are increasingly difficult to detect than counterfeits due to advancing technology, pose “a significant risk to security policy.” As part of the National Action Plan, international cooperation in this area and awareness-raising should therefore be strengthened, explains Karner. There should also be targeted campaigns for young people, so that they can better recognize digital counterfeits.
But the police also want to examine and possibly expand the current options for taking action against deepfakes. The action plan is “very early”, emphasizes Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens). As more and more deepfake videos appear, “the question will arise as to whether the law goes far enough,” she explained.
“Whole states” can be affected
“It can affect anyone,” the interior minister confirmed. Businesses, the media, society as a whole or “entire states” can also be affected if such methods are used. Karner said deepfakes and fake news are intended to “destabilize our democratic order.” Especially the last two years have shown the need to act against this – namely the “lateral thinkers” in the context of the corona pandemic and the spread of various conspiracy theories or false information in the context of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
Zadic pointed out that video manipulation can now be done “extremely well” — and can be done in real time, too. She refers to an example from the Netherlands, where MPs believe they were in a digital video conference with the chief of staff of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. “They had to realize it was a live deepfake.” This illustrates very well how difficult it is to recognize such a thing. It is still unknown who the “prankster” was, according to the Minister of Justice.
More Dangerous Videos “Just a Matter of Time”
Austria has not yet been affected – the best-known deepfake videos are “fortunately” satirical videos, according to the minister there is also such an own work, which, however, is clearly recognizable as fake. Still, steps are needed because: “These are still satirical videos, but it’s only a matter of time before we unmark deepfake videos.” At the same time, she emphasized that it was not about limiting art, but that something had to be done. be done against manipulation.
Source: Krone
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