February 27 | Addressing Computer-Generated Child Sex Abuse Imagery

Join the Cyber Policy Center on Tuesday, February 27th from 12 Noon–1 PM Pacific, for Addressing Computer-Generated Child Sex Abuse Imagery, with Riana Pfefferkorn, Research Scholar at the Stanford Internet Observatory. The session will be moderated by Nate Persily, co director of the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, and is part of the Winter Seminar Series, a series spanning January through March hosted at the Cyber Policy Center. Sessions are in-person and virtual, via Zoom and streamed via YouTube, with in-person attendance offered to Stanford affiliates only. Lunch is provided for in-person attendance and registration is required. This session will take place in Encina Hall, on the 3rd floor in the Oksenberg Conference Room.

Last year saw significant technical advances in generative machine learning (ML). When trained on sexually explicit imagery, ML models can generate new realistic-looking explicit content. ML models are now being used to create highly realistic child sex abuse material (CSAM). It will soon be feasible to generate images that are indistinguishable from photographic images of real children. Computer-generated CSAM made with generative ML (CG-CSAM) will have major implications for the U.S. legal regime governing child sex abuse imagery. This talk reviews current law, discusses CG-CSAM’s constitutional and policy implications, and suggests some potential responses.

About the Speaker

Riana Pfefferkorn is a Research Scholar at the Stanford Internet Observatory and a non-residential fellow at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. A lawyer by training, Riana's research areas include encryption policy, cybersecurity, and online trust and safety, particularly child safety. She also co-teaches the popular Hack Lab class at Stanford.