News Reporter Kelly Smyth investigates the open distribution of concerning AI-generated content containing children on DeviantArt, which Gardaí claim is “not a crime”.
Content Warning: Readers should be advised that this article discusses instances of AI generated Child Sexual Abuse Material.
DeviantArt, described as a “once-beloved” social community for artists, now finds itself a hub for an online fetish community that may put children at risk. The US website was originally established in 2000 with the aim of creating a social space for artists online, eventually booming to over 75 million users worldwide, with some even able to launch professional art careers.
However, 25 years after its release, the website has come under controversy for its lack of ability to professionalise its atmosphere despite the user base. When speaking to Slate, one user complained that the website has become “flooded with a lot of really low-effort hentai and porn stuff.” While the issue of unregulated pornography has been recognised by some users, the issue of minors being photographed and AI-generated for fetish content has not yet been publicly addressed.
Several accounts have been posting AI-generated imagery depicting minors, with many being underdressed or depicted in concerning settings.
Furthermore, a subset of users have come to attention for the open solicitation and distribution of AI-generated depictions of minors specifically for a fetish known as ‘Feederism’. As defined by the National Institute of Health, feederism is a “fat fetish subculture in which individuals eroticise weight gain and feeding,” with further subgroups of “feeders,” who wish to make another person gain weight, and “feedees,” who wish to gain weight. The National Institute of Health has called into question the concerning power dynamics within the fetish, as well as the physical health implications. One Youtube channel 'We’re All Going Insane' has garnered nearly 1 million views for a video titled, ‘Groomed Into Feederism’. Considering this, it is clear to see why concern needs to be raised when this content begins featuring minors.
An alarming number of AI-generated fetish art featuring depictions of children is left unregulated on the website, with accounts resurfacing and reposting the images following deletion by moderators. One account in particular has been deleted on two separate occasions, yet the over-two-hundred AI-generated images of minors for which the account got banned has been continually reposted subsequently. The profile gained hundreds of followers as it resurfaced, and has been instructing other users on how to bypass Bing AI restrictions to produce such images.
While the Gardaí did offer additional contact information to email screenshots of the images and conversations online to - they ultimately said this content was “not a crime.”
Another account shares multiple images of shirtless overweight minors not generated by AI - although the account claims these images come from a ‘friendship’ with the minors, the user was over 30 years old when each photograph was taken. This same account has also saved other users’ AI-generated content featuring minors. In some cases, content posted twelve years ago was still being shared and engaged with as recently as 2023. Adding to an already alarming situation is the revelation that this user claims to have worked in roles with a close-proximity to minors.
Following the discovery of this community, the Gardaí were immediately notified. While the Gardaí did offer additional contact information to email screenshots of the images and conversations online to - they ultimately said this content was “not a crime.”
This brings into question whether the Irish legal system is up to date with technological advances. As of now, there is no AI-specific legislation in Ireland, with any plans surrounding AI being mostly economically focused.
In the UK, plans to enact new legislation to combat the creation of child pornography using AI are underway. Perpetrators could face up to 5 years in prison for creating Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), although the new laws mostly target the use of AI to distort real imagery or audio featuring minors. While the UK is the first country in the world to attempt to combat this issue, the head of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), Derek Ray-Hill, warns that the availability of AI CSAM online “further fuels sexual violence against children.” This comes as the IWF reported a 380% increase in reports of AI-generated CSAM. With this in mind, we must ask: where does the content as described on DeviantArt fit into this form of legislative action?
While the UK’s step towards tackling this issue is a watershed moment in combating AI CSAM, should this imagery be further regulated, and what would be considered CSAM under this legislation? With fetish communities on DeviantArt sharing both AI-generated content and real content featuring supposedly innocent imagery of minors alongside one another, yet posted in festish subgroup pages, the IWF’s concerns that the AI CASM may promote real child abuse are clearly valid.
Most concerningly of all, when will the Irish Government act against the production and distribution of this material? Due to the lack of legislative protections against AI CSAM, reports to Gardaí will continue to be dismissed as there are no legal ramifications for perpetrators despite the huge risk it poses to children.
For now, we can only advocate the government to introduce measures against this content, as while this is a global criminal issue, we do have domestic perpetrators. One user has shared content under the hashtags ‘irish boy’ and ‘mature content’. Ireland is not an exception to this alarming issue and our government needs to join the UK’s efforts in combating the AI generation of Child Sexual Abuse Material. Additionally, governments need to drive efforts which could penalise apps such as DeviantArt for facilitating the distribution of such imagery.
If the content in this article affects you, you can find help at the following sources: Dublin Rape Crisis Centre at www.drcc.ie/ or national 24 hour helpline at 1 800 77 8888, CARI at www.cari.ie/ or helpline at 0818 924 567, and the National Counselling Service at https://www2.hse.ie/mental-health/services-support/ncs/