The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has imposed the first sanction in Spain for the creation and dissemination of false images generated with artificial intelligence. The parents of a minor have been fined 2,000 euros, reduced to 1,200 for prompt payment, after a case that has set a precedent in the protection of minors’ data in Europe.
What has happened. A minor used the ClothOff app to create a fake image of a naked high school classmate. The AI tool takes the victim’s face and superimposes it on an unclothed body, taking into account physical characteristics such as complexion or skin tone. The image was later spread through social networks and messaging groups.
The origin of the case. Although the public resolution does not identify the parties involved, the AEPD has confirmed that it is one of the cases that occurred in AlmendralejoBadajoz, in September 2023. Then, it came to light that at least 20 minors had been victims of similar schemes that circulated on the municipality’s cell phones. The images even reached portals such as OnlyFans and pornographic pages, according to the resolution.
Why it is important. This is the first time that a data protection authority in the European Union sanctions by spreading a deepfake. The AEPD opened the file ex officio on September 20, 2023, just two days after the case became public, and was able to learn the identity of those responsible thanks to the collaboration with the Prosecutor’s Office. The regulator has acted on the basis that a person’s image is personal data that has reinforced protection when it comes to minors.
The debate on the sanction. The amount of the fine has generated some debate. Jorge García Herrero, lawyer and data protection officer, account to El País that “very few risks related to AI cause as much social alarm as the creation of non-consensual sexual deepfakes of minors” and questions whether the sanction is ‘not very exemplary’. On the other hand, the jurist Borja Adsuara, account to the media that this is “a crime against privacy, which goes through criminal proceedings,” and wonders what sense it makes to impose an administrative fine when the case has already been judicially sentenced.
The parallel path. This administrative procedure of the AEPD is independent of the criminal process that has already been initiated against those responsible, who were between 12 and 14 years old at the time of the events. In the judicial process, a year of supervised release was imposed on 15 minors for manipulating images of classmates. According to Miriam Al Adib, mother of one of the victims, “there was an exemplary sentence according to which the children are on probation for a year and have to take a training course.”
And now what. It is expected that the AEPD will publish more similar fines related to the events in Almendralejo in the coming months, given that there were at least two dozen victims. The resolution exempts the creators of ClothOff from liability, an application designed specifically to generate images of naked women without their consent and which is currently closed. Its creators face a judicial process in the United States. Al Adib warns that these cases represent “a pandemic of tremendous violence” that requires coordinated political strategies and effective protection protocols for victims.
Cover image | Swello
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