A task force to combat Chinese deepfake videos already exists, the National Security Bureau (NSB) confirmed yesterday, as it warned against malicious attempts to influence elections and public opinion through altered videos.
Intelligence shows that Beijing has since 2018 been altering videos and photographs of Taiwanese leaders, NSB Deputy Director-General Chen Chin-kuang (陳進廣) said.
He made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee to discuss potential responses to the emergent video modification technology following the highly publicized arrest last month of a YouTuber accused of selling deepfake pornography.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Government systems are frequent targets of cyberattacks, most of which originate from China, Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
This year is shaping up to be significantly more active than last year, which saw more than 40,000 incidents recorded by the bureau, Chen said, adding that attacks tend to increase during sensitive times, such as an election or COVID-19 outbreaks.
Asked if deepfake technology could be used to make the president or premier appear to say something they did not, Hsu replied: “This could of course happen.”
Deepfakes might be used to take advantage of major social or political events to sow discord or affect national security, he said.
With the nation holding referendums next month and local elections next year, the bureau has created a task force dedicated to combating deepfakes, Chen said.
As for a legal deterrent, Deputy Minister of Justice Tsai Pi-chung (蔡碧仲) said it is up to the Central Election Commission to draft penalties for disseminating fake videos intended to influence an election.
Discussions regarding victim protections have already been held, but regulations involving other jurisdictions, such as elections, would require action from other agencies, Tsai said.
Early deepfake videos were obviously very crude, but the technology is improving fast, Hsu said.
At the moment it is easy for investigators to catch a deepfake video when it is put in front of them — the issue is having enough people to find the “needle in a haystack” as soon as it comes out, he added.
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