Manila: The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Friday called on lawmakers to come up with legislation against the creation, sharing, distribution, or possession of pornographic materials made through artificial intelligence (AI) technology called 'deepfake.' In a Bagong Pilipinas interview over PTV, CICC Chief, Undersecretary Renato 'Aboy' Paraiso, said there is a 'gap' that needs to be filled to enable law enforcement agencies to combat deepfake materials.

According to Philippines News Agency, Paraiso highlighted that deepfakes are currently considered 'victim-less crimes,' as they can be depicted as animations based on fictional characters. He emphasized the need for a law that prohibits the creation, manufacture, sharing, distribution, or possession of videos containing artificially recreated pornographic content.

The CICC's Threat Monitoring Center (TMC) has discovered that most deepfakes circulating in the country originate from abroad and are likely linked to organized criminal organizations. Paraiso noted that funds from scams and illegal gambling are being used to support other forms of illegal online activities.

He explained that detecting deepfakes is more challenging than filtering content like illegal gambling or fake news. Deepfakes require real-time analysis rather than automated tools. Once identified, social media platforms can promptly remove deepfake videos, but many still circulate through the dark web.

Paraiso pointed out that while social media platforms respond quickly to deepfakes, the issue with pornographic and adult deepfakes is their presence on the dark web, not on social media platforms. He urged the public to report deepfakes, scams, illegal gambling, child pornography, and other online crimes to the hotline 1326.

The hotline operates 24/7 and includes a feedback mechanism that allows complainants to track the status of their reported case and its referral to law enforcement agencies.