Facebook’s Ban on Deepfakes Is a Half-Step at Best
It’s better than nothing — but just barely
On Monday, Facebook announced a new policy against “deepfake” videos. The policy is imperfect in multiple ways, which savvy outlets were quick to highlight. In fact, the ban is even more limited than some critics may realize.
At a time when other social platforms are embracing deepfake tools for fun and profit, Facebook’s ban counts as a step in the right direction. That said, it’s far from sufficient.
Key to understanding Facebook’s policy, and its shortcomings, is how the company defines deepfakes. As the Washington Post first reported, and Facebook confirmed in its blog post, the company will now take down what it calls “manipulated misleading media” — but only if it meets specific criteria. Here are those criteria, in Facebook’s words:
“It has been edited or synthesized — beyond adjustments for clarity or quality — in ways that aren’t apparent to an average person and would likely mislead someone into thinking that a subject of the video said words that they did not actually say. And:
It is the product of artificial intelligence or machine learning that merges, replaces or superimposes content onto a video, making it appear to be authentic.”
