{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-27T06:48:59.902Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"pay","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"2020","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":1,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":1,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":2,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2020-taiwan-youtuber-and-assistant-who-sold-ai-face-swap-sexual-videos-of-119-people-convicted-and-ordered-to-pay-damages","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'began circulating online in July last year.' 'using deep learning technology, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Criminal Investigation Bureau said that pornographic videos featuring well-known Taiwanese politicians and influencers began circulating online in July 2020 and that they were made by superimposing people's faces onto existing pornographic videos using deep learning technology.","causal_attribution":"Investigating police account at a briefing; the technical basis is not described beyond deep learning."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'濫用人工智慧合成技術Deepfake' '將119名被害人臉部特徵，合成至成人色情網站下載的影片中。' '購得合成不雅影片，不法獲利高達1338萬餘元。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'用AI深偽技術「DeepFake」軟體' '檢方認定共119人受害'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"According to the indictment as reported by PTS, the YouTuber and his assistant misused AI synthesis technology (Deepfake) to merge the facial features of 119 people into videos downloaded from adult websites and sold them for illegal profits of more than NT$13.38 million.","causal_attribution":"Prosecutors' account relayed by two outlets; the courts later convicted on 119 counts."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'一審新北地院依違反個人資料保護法將119罪各處刑5月，合併應執行5年6月，但得易科罰金198萬元' '高等法院二審加重改判6年8月，其中5年不得易科罰金、沒收犯罪所得；最高法院2024月5月駁回上訴定讞。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'rejected an appeal by a Taiwanese YouTuber and upheld his five-year prison sentence by a lower court'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The New Taipei District Court convicted the pair under the Personal Data Protection Act on 119 counts in July 2022; on the prosecutors' appeal the High Court increased the YouTuber's sentence and confiscated the proceeds, and the Supreme Court upheld the sentences in May 2024.","causal_attribution":"Court rulings as reported by two outlets; the judgments themselves were not read."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'not only tarnishes their reputation, but also harms their mental health, the Supreme Court ruled.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The Supreme Court ruled that using people's likenesses to create deepfake pornographic videos for public viewing tarnishes their reputation and harms their mental health.","causal_attribution":"Supreme Court finding as reported by the Taipei Times."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'涉及偽造被害人等之私密影像，屬侵害不可替代性且幾近不可回復之法益侵害' '定應執行有期徒刑6年4月' '但最高法院2025年12月17日駁回抗告'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The High Court set an aggregate term of six years and four months, describing the forged intimate images of the victims as an irreplaceable and nearly irreversible violation, and the Supreme Court rejected the YouTuber's challenge on 17 December 2025.","causal_attribution":"Court rulings as reported by the Liberty Times."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'have been ordered to pay NT$1 million (US$32,548) to each of two women whose likenesses they used in deepfake pornography videos' 'it is nearly impossible to expunge content that has been shared online.' 'would continue to be haunted by the misuse of their likenesses for decades, along with harm to their reputations, it said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'分別批准賠償20萬、20萬、20萬、25萬、50萬、50萬，總計判賠185萬元。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"In civil suits the New Taipei District Court ordered the pair to pay NT$1 million to each of two women, saying content shared online is nearly impossible to remove, and the High Court later ordered a total of NT$1.85 million to six women.","causal_attribution":"Civil rulings as reported by two outlets, one for each ruling."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'網路流傳相關影片，這對被害者造成二次傷害'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"One victim, a city councillor, told the criminal court that the videos circulating online inflicted further harm on the victims.","causal_attribution":"A victim's statement in court as reported by PTS."}],"effects":[{"label":"119 people's faces put into pornographic videos sold online (prosecutors and courts)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"harm to the depicted people's reputation and mental health (Supreme Court)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/10/20/2003766430","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-26; no translation.","independence_group":"cib-briefing-2021-10-18"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://news.pts.org.tw/article/591364","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese (traditional script) by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-26 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. PTS report of the first-instance sentencing and the indictment.","independence_group":"new-taipei-district-court-2022-07-21"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/12/14/2003790696","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-26; no translation.","independence_group":"new-taipei-district-court-civil-2022-12"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2024/05/11/2003817703","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-26; no translation.","independence_group":"supreme-court-2024-05"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.ctwant.com/article/383676/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese (traditional script) by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-26 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved.","independence_group":"high-court-civil-2024-12"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/society/breakingnews/5346416","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese (traditional script) by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-26 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Liberty Times report summarising the criminal proceedings and the December 2025 ruling.","independence_group":"supreme-court-2025-12-17"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["Which face-swap software was used.","The full criminal and civil judgments, which were not read; findings are taken from news reports.","Whether people beyond the 119 counted by prosecutors were depicted, and the outcome of the other civil claims.","Whether the December 2024 civil judgment, which CTWANT reported could be appealed, became final."],"geography":{"basis":"The Criminal Investigation Bureau investigated the case, the suspects were arrested in New Taipei City and the New Taipei District Court, High Court and Supreme Court of Taiwan decided it; the reports describe the videos as made and sold by the pair in Taiwan, so the event country is Taiwan. The victims are described as Taiwanese politicians and influencers in the Taipei Times report, but individual countries are not stated, so affected-person countries are left empty.","court_countries":["TW"],"event_countries":["TW"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau said the videos were made by superimposing 119 real people's faces onto pornographic videos with deep learning technology, the indictment as reported describes AI synthesis (Deepfake), and the courts convicted the YouTuber and his assistant, upheld the sentences, and civil courts awarded damages to women depicted in the videos. No victim or accused person is named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-26"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau said the videos were made by superimposing people's faces onto existing pornographic videos using deep learning technology, and the indictment, as reported by PTS, describes the misuse of AI synthesis technology (Deepfake) to merge 119 people's facial features into downloaded adult videos. These generated videos depicting real people are the material that was sold online and for which the courts convicted the pair and awarded damages; the Supreme Court found that such videos harm the depicted people's reputation and mental health. The inspected sources do not name the software or describe a technical examination beyond the investigators' account.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Taiwan: YouTuber and assistant who sold AI face-swap sexual videos of 119 people, including politicians and influencers, convicted and ordered to pay damages","summary":"From July 2020 sexual videos showing the faces of Taiwanese politicians and influencers circulated online. Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau said in October 2021 that the videos had been made by superimposing people's faces onto existing pornographic videos using deep learning technology; PTS describes the makers as a YouTuber with about a million subscribers and his assistant, who sold the videos. Prosecutors counted 119 victims, and the indictment, as reported by Taiwan's public broadcaster PTS, describes the misuse of AI synthesis technology (Deepfake). The New Taipei District Court convicted the pair in July 2022 under the Personal Data Protection Act on 119 counts; on the prosecutors' appeal the High Court increased the YouTuber's sentence, and the Supreme Court upheld it in May 2024, ruling that such videos harm the depicted people's reputation and mental health. In December 2025 the Supreme Court rejected his challenge to an aggregate term of six years and four months, as reported by the Liberty Times. Civil courts ordered the pair to pay NT$1 million each to two women in December 2022 and a total of NT$1.85 million to six women in December 2024.","incidentDate":"2020-07-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2021-10-20","aiSystem":"Face-swap software that, according to the Criminal Investigation Bureau and the indictment as reported, used deep learning (Deepfake) to superimpose real people's faces onto existing pornographic videos; the software is not named in the inspected sources","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","reputational_harm","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the CIB and the courts as reported, 119 people's faces were put into pornographic videos with deep learning face-swap software and sold online; the Supreme Court found such videos harm the depicted people's reputation and mental health, and civil courts awarded damages to two women in 2022 and six women in 2024.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":119,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Prosecutors counted 119 victims and the courts convicted on 119 counts, one for each person whose face was used (PTS, Liberty Times, Taipei Times). The convictions establish 119 as a lower bound; whether other people were depicted is not stated.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"TW","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2024/05/11/2003817703","primarySourceLabel":"Taipei Times, 11 May 2024: Court upholds deepfake porn creator's sentencing","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-26T03:13:46.188719+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-26T03:13:46.188719+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","sexual_images","face_swap","court_conviction","civil_damages","taiwan"]},{"id":"2020-canadian-voice-actor-alleged-tiktok-text-to-speech-used-her-voice-without-permission-suit-settled","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Plaintiff was hired by the Institute of Acoustics to'; 'perform voice work purportedly for Chinese translations'; 'and artificial intelligence technology'; 'Plaintiff did not have a contract with the Institute of Acoustics'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'She thinks the company got her voice from recordings she says she did for the Institute of Acoustics'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Standing says she was hired by the Institute of Acoustics for voice work described as Chinese translations, related to text-to-speech and AI technology, which left the institute with files of her voice, and that she had no contract allowing their transfer.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiff’s allegations and interview; not tested in court."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'During November of 2020, Plaintiff discovered that her electronic voice'; 'generated voice of TikTok'; 'Plaintiff was not compensated for the use of her voice and likeness and'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'According to Standing, a computer-generated version of her voice was built into a feature that converts text typed into the app into a voice'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"She alleges that she discovered in November 2020 that ByteDance had acquired her voice files and was using her voice, without permission or payment, as the female computer-generated voice of TikTok's text-to-speech feature.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiff’s allegations; TikTok never confirmed the voice was hers."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the TikTok user is able to'; 'determine what words are spoken in'; 'have involved foul and offensive language'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint says TikTok users chose the words spoken in her voice and that some videos had it say foul and offensive language.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiff’s allegations."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'noticed a new female voice narrating their videos on Monday, about three weeks after a Canadian actor filed a lawsuit'; 'CBC News asked TikTok about the voice change, but the company did not comment on it or the case.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'they did change their text-to-speech voice two weeks after the original lawsuit'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"About three weeks after she sued, TikTok users noticed a new female voice narrating videos; TikTok did not comment on the change or the case.","causal_attribution":"Reported observation of the voice change; the two reports give different intervals (two and three weeks)."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'from Robert Sciglimpaglia dated 09/25/2021 re: Settlement'; 'hereby dismissed and discontinued without costs, and without prejudice to the right to reopen the action within thirty days'; 'STIPULATION OF VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL It is hereby stipulated and agreed by and between the parties and/or their respective counsel(s) that the above-captioned action is voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice against the defendant(s) ByteDance Inc.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Her lawyer wrote to the court about a settlement on 25 September 2021 and the court dismissed the action on 29 September 2021, allowing reopening within thirty days if the settlement was not consummated; on 29 October 2021 a stipulation of voluntary dismissal with prejudice was filed.","causal_attribution":"Docket entries."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'told The Verge that the settlement is still being finalised, and the details should not be disclosed'; 'he added that TikTok would also license'; 'While TikTok has never confirmed that Bev was indeed behind their original text-to-speech voice'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Her lawyer told The Verge the settlement was an amicable resolution whose details would not be disclosed and that TikTok would license her voice; TikTok never confirmed that she was behind its original voice.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiff’s lawyer’s statement relayed by MusicTech; TikTok’s non-confirmation recorded as counterevidence."}],"effects":[{"label":"voice actor alleges a computer-generated version of her voice was used as TikTok’s text-to-speech voice without permission or payment","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.559723/gov.uscourts.nysd.559723.9.0.pdf","kind":"court_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200). Amended complaint (ECF 9); allegations only.","independence_group":"standing-v-bytedance-litigation"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/tiktok-voice-bev-standing-1.6040303","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200). Interview with the plaintiff and the reporter’s account of the voice change.","independence_group":"standing-v-bytedance-litigation"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59884390/standing-v-bytedance-e-commerce-inc/","kind":"court_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200). Docket entries as listed on CourtListener (RECAP).","independence_group":"standing-v-bytedance-litigation"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://musictech.com/news/industry/tiktok-reaches-settlement-voice-without-permission-for-text-to-speech","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200). Relays the plaintiff’s lawyer’s statement to The Verge.","independence_group":"standing-v-bytedance-litigation"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["Whether TikTok's original text-to-speech voice was in fact built from her recordings; TikTok never confirmed it.","How her recordings reached ByteDance, if they did.","The settlement terms and whether TikTok used a licensed version of her voice afterwards.","How many videos used the voice."],"geography":{"basis":"The voice was used on a global app in videos the actor says were seen around the world, so no event country is recorded. The complaint says she is a Canadian citizen living in Ontario, recorded as the affected person's country. The court is the Southern District of New York.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["CA"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): a named voice actor alleged in a federal suit, later settled, that TikTok's text-to-speech feature spoke users' words in a computer-generated version of her voice made without her permission. One source chain, her complaint and interview with the litigation record, read in four sources; the voice's origin remains her allegation.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"TikTok's text-to-speech feature generated speech in a computer-generated voice from text typed by users. The actor alleges, in her complaint and to CBC, that this voice was built from recordings she made for text-to-speech and AI work, so that it spoke in her voice whatever users typed, including offensive language (depicted_or_impersonated). That the voice was made from her recordings is her allegation; TikTok changed the voice after the suit but never confirmed its origin.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Canadian voice actor alleged TikTok's text-to-speech feature used a computer-generated version of her voice without permission; suit settled in 2021","summary":"Canadian voice actor Bev Standing alleged in a May 2021 federal suit in New York that ByteDance's TikTok was using her voice, without permission or payment, as the female computer-generated voice of its text-to-speech feature, which lets users choose the words spoken over their videos. Her complaint says she discovered this in November 2020, that the voice came from recordings she had made for the Institute of Acoustics for work described as Chinese translations related to text-to-speech, and that some videos made the voice say foul and offensive language. About three weeks after she sued, users noticed a new female voice on the feature (CBC); TikTok did not comment and never confirmed that the original voice was hers. The case was dismissed in September 2021 after her lawyer reported a settlement, whose terms were not disclosed.","incidentDate":"2020-11-01","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2021-05-05","aiSystem":"TikTok's text-to-speech feature, introduced in late 2020, which turns typed text into a computer-generated voice played over videos; the complaint alleges its original female voice was built from the actor's recordings","aiProduct":"TikTok text-to-speech","aiCompany":"ByteDance","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A voice actor alleged that TikTok used a computer-generated version of her voice, made from recordings she had supplied for other purposes, as its text-to-speech voice without permission or payment, including in videos with offensive language; the suit was settled.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, the plaintiff whose voice the complaint says was used (amended complaint; CBC). Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"lawsuit_settled","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.559723/gov.uscourts.nysd.559723.9.0.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Standing v. Bytedance, S.D.N.Y. 7:21-cv-04033, amended complaint, 11 May 2021 (ECF 9)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-23T03:15:06.860563+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-23T03:15:06.860563+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["synthetic-voice","text-to-speech","voice-actors","tiktok","lawsuit","settlement","depicted-or-impersonated"]}]}