Stolen Childhood: Brazilian Kids’ Personal Photos Used Without Permission

Brazilian children are victimised by AI; more specifically those looking to train AI using LAION-5B, a dataset for AI training.

AI Exploits Children’s Photos: Brazil Faces Urgent Data Privacy Crisis

A recent Human Rights Watch report reveals the unauthorised use of Brazilian children’s personal photos to train AI tools, leading to severe privacy breaches and potential exploitation. Photos, including identifiable images and sensitive details, have been scraped from the internet and incorporated into LAION-5B, a vast dataset used for AI training. This dataset includes intimate moments such as births, birthdays, and school presentations, posing significant risks as these images can be manipulated to create malicious deepfakes, heightening the threat of online harassment and exploitation.

Data Privacy Safeguards Needed

The misuse of these photos has resulted in real-world harm, with cases of explicit deepfakes targeting young girls from various states. Despite pledges from LAION to remove these images, the organisation’s response suggests that the responsibility lies with individuals to delete their online photos. Human Rights Watch emphasises the urgent need for stronger data protection laws in Brazil, advocating for comprehensive safeguards against scraping and nonconsensual use of children’s data. Current regulations under the General Personal Data Protection Law are deemed insufficient to address these issues.

Call for Comprehensive Legislation

Human Rights Watch urges Brazil’s government to enhance data privacy protections specifically for children. Proposed measures include prohibiting the scraping of children’s data for AI purposes and ensuring legal remedies for those affected by data misuse. Lawmakers are also encouraged to integrate robust data privacy regulations into broader AI policies to prevent further exploitation and safeguard children’s rights as technology evolves. Pacific Islands AI beseeches parents of small children to look

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