GitHub托管了性剥削技术的源代码促进了基于图像的性虐待性剥削并推动了生成式人工智能的危险使用

Established1962

PATRICKA.TRUEMAN,J.D.|BoardMember

PresidentandCEO

DAWNE.HAWKINS

Sr.VicePresident&ExecutiveDirector

BENJAMINW.BULL,J.D.

Sr.VicePresident&GeneralCounsel

LISAL.THOMPSON

VicePresidentofResearchandPolicy

HALEYC.HALVERSON

VicePresident&Director,InternationalCentreonSexualExploitation

MARKCROZÉT

VicePresidentandDirectorofDevelopment

BOARDMEMBERS

RONDEHAAS|Chairman

Founder&CEO,CovenantEyes

DANO’BRYANT,J.D.|ViceChairman

FormerFellow,WeatherheadCenterforInternationalAffairs,HarvardUniversity

RHONDAGRAFF|Secretary

FormerAerospaceProgramManager/industrialEngineer

KENSUKHIA,J.D.|Treasurer

TrialandAppellateLawyer,SukhiaLawGroup,PLC

HADLEYARKES,PH.D.

NeyProfessorofJurisprudence,Emeritus,AmherstCollege

BETHCOONS

Chairman,FarnsworthCompanies

JOHNFOUBERT,PH.D.

Dean,CollegeofEducation,UnionUniversity

ROBERTGEORGE,PH.D.

McCormickProfessorofJurisprudence,PrincetonUniversity

DONALDLHILTON,M.D.

Neurosurgeon,UniversityofTexas-SanAntonio

DONNAM.HUGHES,PH.D.

Professor,CarlsonEndowedChair,UniversityofRhodeIsland

AMBASSADORSWANEEHUNT

ChairandFounder,HuntAlternatives;EleanorRooseveltLecturerofPublicPolicy,HarvardKennedySchoolofGovernment

MARYANNELAYDEN,PH.D.

Director,SexualTraumaandPsychopathologyProgram,UniversityofPennsylvania

MOSTREVERENDPAULS.LOVERDE

Bishop,DiocesesofArlington,VA,Retired

SHERRYNILLES

NationalRegent,CatholicDaughtersoftheAmericas

KINDSEYPENTECOST

President,ItWorks!International

MARGARETRUCKS

ManagingDirector,RucksFamilyFoundation

ALANSEARS,ESQ.

FormerPresidentandCEO,AllianceDefendingFreedom

LINNEAW.SMITH,M.D.

Retired,Psychiatrist

MELEASTEPHENS,L.P.C.,M.M.F.T.

MarriageandFamilyTherapist

CAROLYNWEST,PH.D.

ProfessorofClinicalPsychologyUniversityofWashington

JUSTICEMICHAELJ.WILKINS

FormerAssociateChiefJustice,UtahSupremeCourt

PATRICKA.TRUEMAN,J.D.|BoardMember

President

DAWNE.HAWKINS

ChiefExecutiveOfficer

BENJAMINW.BULL,J.D.

Sr.VicePresident&GeneralCounsel

BOARDMEMBERS

RONDEHAAS|Chairman

Founder&CEO,CovenantEyes

DANO’BRYANT,J.D.|ViceChairman

FormerFellow,WeatherheadCenterforInternationalAffairs,HarvardUniversity

RHONDAGRAFF|Secretary

FormerAerospaceProgramManager/industrialEngineer

KENSUKHIA,J.D.|Treasurer

TrialandAppellateLawyer,SukhiaLawGroup,PLC

HADLEYARKES,PH.D.

NeyProfessorofJurisprudence,Emeritus,AmherstCollege

BETHCOONS

Chairman,FarnsworthCompanies

JOHNFOUBERT,PH.D.

Dean,CollegeofEducation,UnionUniversity

ROBERTGEORGE,PH.D.

McCormickProfessorofJurisprudence,PrincetonUniversity

DONALDLHILTON,M.D.

Neurosurgeon,UniversityofTexas-SanAntonio

DONNAM.HUGHES,PH.D.

Professor,CarlsonEndowedChair,UniversityofRhodeIsland

AMBASSADORSWANEEHUNT

ChairandFounder,HuntAlternatives;EleanorRooseveltLecturerofPublicPolicy,HarvardKennedySchoolofGovernment

MARYANNELAYDEN,PH.D.

Director,SexualTraumaandPsychopathologyProgram,UniversityofPennsylvania

MOSTREVERENDPAULS.LOVERDE

Bishop,DiocesesofArlington,VA,Retired

SHERRYNILLES

NationalRegent,CatholicDaughtersoftheAmericas

KINDSEYPENTECOST

President,ItWorks!International

MARGARETRUCKS

ManagingDirector,RucksFamilyFoundation

ALANSEARS,ESQ.

FormerPresidentandCEO,AllianceDefendingFreedom

LINNEAW.SMITH,M.D.

Retired,Psychiatrist

MELEASTEPHENS,L.P.C.,M.M.F.T.

MarriageandFamilyTherapist

CAROLYNWEST,PH.D.

ProfessorofClinicalPsychologyUniversityofWashington

JUSTICEMICHAELJ.WILKINS

FormerAssociateChiefJustice,UtahSupremeCourt

April28,2023

ThomasDohmkeCEO,GitHub

88ColinPKellyJrStSanFrancisco,CA94107

Re:GitHubhostingsourcecodeforsexuallyexploitativetechnology,facilitatingimage-basedsexualabuse(IBSA),sexualexploitation,andpromotingthedangeroususeofgenerative-AI

DearMr.Dohmke,

WearewritingtoinformyouthattheNationalCenteronSexualExploitation—anon-partisannonprofitorganizationinWashington,DCdedicatedtoaddressingthefullspectrumofsexualexploitation—isplacingGitHubontheannualDirtyDozenListfeaturing12majorcontributorstosexualexploitationandabuse.ThelistwillberevealedtothepubliconMay2.

Asthe

largestcode-hostingcommunity

1globallyandthe

most

prominentcode-hostingplatform

2forversioncontrolandcollaboration,comprisedofover

100millionactivedevelopers

,3GitHubhasincrediblepowerandreach.Duetoyourplatform’sopen-sourceddesign,reporting413millionopen-sourcedcodecontributionsin2022alone,GitHubhasservedasaprimaryleaderinthedemocratizationofthemostrecentsoftwaredevelopments–suchaswith

generativeAI

–andisarguablythemostcriticalspaceinwhichAItechdevelops.4

However,despitemovingthetechindustryforwardinthelastdecadeandestablishingitselfasaleaderinthedemocratizationofgenerativeAI,GitHubhasalsoearneditselfatitleasasignificantcontributortothecreationofsexuallyexploitativetechnology5andhasbeennotedforfacilitatingthegrowingcrimeofimage-basedsexualabuse–thecapture,creation,and/orsharingofsexuallyexplicitimageswithoutthesubject’sknowledgeorconsent.GitHubhostsguides,codes,andhyperlinkstosexualdeepfakecommunityforumsdedicatedtothecreation,collaboration,andcommodificationofsyntheticmediatechnologies,andAI-leveraged‘nudifiying’websitesandapplicationsthattakewomen’simagesand“stripthem”ofclothing.6Open-sourcedrepositoriesdedicatedto

PAGE

10

IBSAthriveonGitHub,allowinguserstoreplicate,favorite(star),andcollaborateonsexuallyexploitativetechnologywithoutrepercussions.

In2019,thesourcecodefora‘nudifying’botatthecenterofadeepfakeecosystemonTelegramthat“stripped”imagesofmorethan104,000womenwasfoundonGitHub.DespitethistechnologyviolatingGitHub’spoliciesandthecompanyreportedlybanningthesourcecodeandallreplications(forks)–thesourcecodeandhundredsofreplicationsremainactiveonGitHubfouryearslater,continuingtovictimizeandtraumatizethewomendepictedintheabusivecontent.

GitHubhasalsocomeunderfirefromreputableacademicresearchers.Astudyby

WinterandSalter

foundthatGitHuballowedsexualdeepfakesto“intentionallyspreadtospaceswithlimitedmoderation,whichhasallowedthecontinuedcreationofnon-consensualpornography.”7

DeepFaceLab,

8themostpopulartechnologyforcreatingsexualdeepfakes(estimatedtobeusedinthecreationof95%ofallsexualdeepfakes),isactiveonGitHubandhasbeenstarredover

38thousandtimes

andreplicatedover8.7thousandtimes.

9Further,DeepFaceLab’sGitHubrepositorycontainsdirectlinkstothemostprolificsexualdeepfakeabusewebsiteintheUnitedStates:Mr.DeepFakes.

Inadditiontotheonescitedabove,manymorerepositoriesdedicatedtodevelopingpornographyandimage-scrapingtechnology/bots,aswellas“savebots”thatarefrequentlyusedtosavesexuallyexplicitandpornographicimagesfromsocialmediasites,remainrampantonGitHub.Image-basedsexualabuse(IBSA)isoccurringatunprecedentedrates,andisfacilitatedbyInternetandCommunicationTechnologies–suchasthosebeingdevelopedonGitHub.TheonlinenatureofIBSAlimitsthevictim’sabilitytoescapeabuse,asevidenceremainsonlineforever.Onceanimageisshared,thereisnoguaranteethatitcanberemoved,especiallywithtechnologyfurtherrestrictingavictim’sabilitytoremovecontent,suchassavebots.ThetechnologybeingdevelopedonGitHubisalsopartofanewwaveofsexualviolence.Sexualdeepfakesallowanyonetobetargetedandharassedonlineforsomethingtheyneverdidorsaid.

WeknowGitHubpridesitselfonbeinganeducationalinnovator–providingopportunitiesforteenagers(13+)andcollegestudentstolearncodingandsoftwaredevelopment.Theseservicesaredesignedtobeconnectedtolearningmanagementsystems(LMS)suchas

GoogleClassroom.

10ConsideringGitHub’slackofcontentmoderationandmeaningfulageverificationmeasures,thesignificantnumberofsexuallyexploitativeandobscenerepositoriespubliclyaccessibletominorsonGitHubisalarming.GitHubdoesnotage-gatesoftwaredevelopmentsthatmaybeinappropriateforunderageusers–despitehavingapopulationof1.9millionstudentsusingGitHubClassroom.Further,GitHub

defaultsallstudentrepositoriestopublic

.11Teachers/administratorsmustpayanextrafeetoaccessfeaturestoprivatizetheirrepositories.

NCOSErecognizestheimportanceofandsupportstechnologicalinnovationandprogress.However,technologicaladvancesmustnotsupersedeorcomeatthecostofpeople’ssafetyandwell-being.Technologyshouldbebuiltanddevelopedtofight,ratherthanfacilitate,sexualexploitationandabuse.GitHub’semphasisondeveloperhappinessandfreespeechsafetyandwell-beingcannotmeanallowingdeveloperstocommitcrimesandharmothers.Byprovidingaspacenotonlytocreate,butalsotocollaborateonandamplifyabuse,GitHubisnotonlycondoningcriminalconduct–itisdirectlycontributingtoit.

Theexponentialgrowthininnovationandcreativesolutionsofferedbyartificialintelligencearetobecelebrated.Yetthedizzyingadvancementsbearseveralintuitiveriskstoitsusersandbegsthequestion:Whobearsthebrunt?Aninjusticeoccurswhenthepurportedbenefitsofartificialintelligenceemployedby

GitHubareannulledbyacuterisksand/ordemonstrableharms.Humanitymaynotbeclosetoanethicalconsensus,butatleast

fiveethicalprinciples

12fromtheglobalcorpusofprinciplesandguidelinesonethicalAIareclear.Theseincludetransparency,justiceandfairness,non-maleficence,responsibility,andprivacy.Moreover,artificialintelligencesystemslearnandmakedecisionsthatcanhaveaprofoundimpactonhumandignityandindividualautonomy.GitHub’sbusinessmodelalsobreachesthe‘legacy’13principleintrinsictoconversationsconcerningethics.Ratherthanbeingcompatible“withscenariosthatmosthumanstodaywouldviewashappy,”GitHubostensiblyoptsinforscenariosthatmosthumanstoday“wouldviewasterrible.”

Inrecalibratingthisimbalance,NCOSEurgesGitHubtoimplementthefollowingchanges:

Banprivateandpublicrepositoriesdedicatedtosexualdeepfake,‘nudifying,’andAI-generatedpornographysoftwaredevelopmentfromGitHub;thisincludesremovingcurrentrepositoriesandpreventingthereplicationofrelatedrepositoriesforsexuallyexploitativetechnologysoftwaredevelopment

BanprivateandpublicpornographyandsexuallyexplicitimageryscrapingrepositoriesfromGitHub;thisincludesremovingcurrentrepositoriesandpreventingthereplicationofrelatedrepositoriesforpurposesofpornographyandsexuallyexplicitimageryscrapingsoftwaredevelopment

ProactivelymoderatecontentandcommunityforumsonGitHub

Defaultstudentrepositoriestoprivate

Implementbasicindustrywidesafetystandards:parentalcontrols,teacher/administrativecontrols,andage-gaterepositoriesinappropriateforminor-agedusers

Image-BasedSexualAbuse(IBSA)isFacilitatedonandthroughGitHub

Image-basedsexualabuse

(IBSA)isabroadtermthatincludesamultitudeofharmfulexperiences,suchasnon-consensualsharingofsexualimages(sometimescalled“revengeporn”),pornographycreatedusingsomeone’sfacewithouttheirknowledge(orsexualdeepfakes),non-consensualrecordingorcaptureofintimatenudeimages(includingso-called“upskirting”orsurreptitiousrecordingsinplacessuchasrestroomsandlockerroomsvia“spycams”),recordingofsexualassault,theuseofsexuallyexplicitorsexualizedmaterialstogroomorextortaperson(alsoknownas“sextortion”)ortoadvertisecommercialsexualabuse,andmore.14

Importantly,sexuallyexplicitorsexualizedmaterialdepictingchildrenages0-17constitutesadistinctclassofmaterialknownaschildsexualabusematerial(CSAM–themoreappropriatetermfor“childpornography”),whichisillegaltoknowinglypossess,access,reproduce,anddistributeunderUSfederallaw.CSAM

shouldnotbeconflatedwithIBSA

,15thoughthetwocrimesarecloselyrelated.

AlthoughGitHubprohibitssexuallyexplicitcontent,and

hasaspecificpolicy

banningnon-consensualintimateimagery,“particularlywherethatcontentisamplifiedbyitsplacementinprofilesorothersocialcontexts,”16thelackofeffectivecontentmoderationpracticesallowssexuallyexploitativetechnologyandIBSAtothrive.AlthoughGitHubimplementsautomateddetectiontoolssuchasPhotoDNAto

proactively

scanforchildsexualabusematerial

(CSAM),17GitHubfailstoimplementcomprehensivemoderationpracticesbypermittingtechnology

foundtohavegeneratedCSAM

andonlymoderatingforCSAMitself.18GitHubhoststhreeofthemostnotorioustechnologiesusedforsyntheticsexuallyexplicitmaterial(SSEM)abuse:DeepFaceLab,DeepNude,andUnstableDiffusion.

UnstableDiffusion.

UnstableDiffusion,

anAI-generating“NSFWCommunity”

19thatbeganonRedditandnowoperatesaDiscordserverofover254,000members,hasreportedlycollectedover

15million“userdonated”

pornographicandsexuallyexplicitimagestocreatetheirtrainingdatabase.20TheyopenlyreferuserstotheGitHubsourcecodefor

StableDiffusion,

atext-to-imagegeneratorforphotorealisticimagegeneration,andprovidedetailedinstructionsfornecessarycheckpointstoimplementtheirown‘NSFW’additions.21Further,theyattributeStableDiffusion’ssourcecodetobuildingtheentirely‘NSFW’text-2-imagegeneratingwebsite,

UnstabilityAI.

22Consideringthemethodinwhichsexuallyexplicitimageswereobtainedviauser“donations,”thereisnowaymeaningfulageorconsentverificationcouldhaveoccurred.However,AI-generatedpornographyisnottheonlysexuallyexploitativesourcecodeGitHubhosts.GitHubalsoallowssexualdeepfakesourcecodes,collaboration,andcommunitiestooperateontheplatform.

DeepFaceLab.

DeepFaceLab’sGitHubrepositorycontainsdirectlinkstothemostprolificsexualdeepfakeabusewebsiteintheUnitedStates–Mr.DeepFakes.Notcoincidentally,thecreatorofDeepFaceLabisalsoafounderofMr.DeepFakesandadvertisesthisconnectionopenlyonGitHub.DeepFaceLabistheleadingdeepfakesoftwareusedinabout

95%ofalldeepfakevideos.

23Asof2023,Mr.Deepfakescontains

over20,000videos

ofsexualdeepfakes

(arapidlyexpandingformofimage-basedsexualabuse),13millionmonthlyvisitors,andacommunityofover250,000members.24ThesecommunitiesfurthercontributetothesexualexploitationofwomenandtheexpansionofIBSA.

TheDeepFaceLabrepositoryon

GitHubdirectlysendsuserstotheMr.DeepFakeswebsite

–awebsitededicatedtocreating,requesting,andsellingsexualdeepfakesofcelebritiesand‘other’women.25Linkstothesoftware’sprimarysourcematerial–guidesandtutorials,supplementarymaterial,andcommunicationgroups–areprovidedontherepository’sprofile.TheonlywaytolearnhowtouseDeepFaceLabisbyaccessingtheguidelocatedonMr.DeepFakes.While

theseguidesaremarked“SFW,”

theydirectlyrefer

interesteduserstotheMr.DeepFakeswebsite,inwhichmisogyny,sexualobjectification,andviolenceagainstwomenareseeminglycommonplace.26Asa

2022Vicearticle

pointedout,“[i]tisimpossibletosupporttheDeepFaceLabprojectwithoutactivelysupportingnon-consensualporn.”27

Theimagebelowdepictsthe‘communicationgroups’sectiononDeepFaceLab’sGitHubrepositoryprofile,containingdirectlinkstodedicatedsexualdeepfakewebsitesandsocialmediagroups.

SearchwasconductedinApril2023

Onceusersclickonthe‘mrdeepfakes’linkinthecommunicationgroupssectiononGitHub,theyaredirectlysenttotheMr.DeepFakesForumpageinwhichtheOfficialDeepFaceLab2.0Guideisavailable.

SearchwasconductedinApril2023

Ina

BBCDocumentary,

Mr.Deepfakesexpressednoconcernorremorseforabusingwomenbycreatingsexualdeepfakesofthem,stating,“Ithinkthataslongasyou’renottryingtopassitoffasarealthing,thatshouldn’treallymatterbecauseit’sbasicallyfake.Idon’treallyfeelthatconsentisrequired–it’safantasy,it’snotreal.”28ByallowingrepositoriessuchasDeepFaceLab,GitHubisnotonlyfacilitatingimage-basedsexualabuse,sexualexploitation,andtheexpansionofthedeepfakemarketplace,butitisalsonormalizingtheuseofgenerative-AIforthesepurposes.

ResearchbyNISOSandSensityAIhaveestablishedGitHub’sroleasaprimaryactorinthecommoditizationofsexualdeepfakesandthedevelopmentofthesexualdeepfakemarketplace,whichiscurrentlytheonlymarketplaceidentifiedfordeepfakecontent.29Morerecently,academicresearchfoundthatGitHubwascitedasoneofthetoptenreferralsitestoMr.DeepFakesfromJanuary–February2023.30GitHubhasundeniablybeenasignificantcontributorinthedemocratizationofsexuallyexploitativetechnologyandthedevelopmentofthesexualdeepfakemarketplace.

DeepNude.

Additionally,despite

GitHub’spublicstatement

againstsexuallyexploitativesourcecodesontheplatformin2019,whichcitedcodessuchasDeepNudeasviolatingtheirpoliciesandsaidsimilarcodesorreplicationswouldbebannedandremovedfromGitHubiftheyappeared,31asofApril2023,similarcodesremainactive.32NCOSEresearcherssearched“deepnude”onGitHubandreceived54resultsforsimilarrepositories,someofwhichcontainedthe

originalsourcecodeforDeepNude.

33

Pornographyandsexuallyexplicitimageryscrapers.

PornographyandsexuallyexplicitimageryscrapersalsothriveonGitHub.Thesehavebeenusedtoscrapeimagesfrompornographyandsocialmediawebsites.Consideringthegrowingbodyofevidence,survivortestimony,andlawsuitsagainstthemostvisitedpornographysites(Pornhub,XVidoes,andXHamster)forhostingactualdepictionsofsextrafficking,childsexualabusematerial(CSAM),rape,andvariousformsofimage-basedabuse(“revengeporn,”“upskirting/downblousing,”and“spycamshowerfootage”),GitHub’sallowanceofthesescrapersfurthercontributestothedisseminationofcriminaland/ornonconsensuallycapturedcontent.

GitHubactivelycontributedtothecreationofadatasetcirclingdeepfakeandAIcommunitiesthatcontainedcontentdepictingactualinstancesofsextrafficking,physicalabuse,drugging,andrapeofwomenfrombothGirlsDoPornandCzechCasting.

VideosfromGirlsDoPornandCzechCasting

were

foundtohavebeenusedtocreateadatasetforAIanddeepfakecommunitiestogeneratesexualdeepfakeandAI-generatedpornography.34

“

Hubbers

,”asGitHubreferstoitsusers,utilizedpornographyscrapersonGitHubtoscrapetheseimagesfrommainstreampornographysitessuchasPornhub.35OneCzechCastingvideothatwasidentifiedinthedatabase

wasofawomancryingduringfilming

andaskingthemantostop–andoncehedoes,thecamerazoomsinonthewomanandshowssheisbleeding.36Disturbingly,themaninthevideothrowsthewomanatowelanddirectshertocleanherbloodup.

WhenNCOSEresearcherssearched‘porn’inGitHub,over3,000resultsappeared.Basedontherepositoriesonthefirstpageofresults,‘porn’frequentlyreferstopornographyscrapersonGitHub–directlyviolatingGitHub’spolicies.

Unfortunately,pornographyistheperfectcontenttogeneratephotorealisticimagesbecauseitdemonstratesthemostexplicitanddetailedportionsofthehumanbody,providingauniquesenseofrealismlackinginothertypesofAI-generatedcontent.However,becauseAI-generatedpornographyrequireslargequantitiesofdata,howthis‘data’isacquiredisnotalwaysconsensual…enterGitHub.

ThepornographyandsexuallyexplicitimageryscrapershostedonGitHub

‘scrape’popularpornography

tubesites

tocollectcontentfordeepfakeandgenerativeAIpornographydatasets.37ThesescrapersidentifyanddownloadfreecontentfrommainstreamsitessuchasPornhubandXVideos,essentiallycreatinganinfinitepersonalpornographicdatabase.GitHubfacilitatesthecreationofpersonalpornographicdatabasescreatedwithouttheconsentorknowledgeoftheindividualsinthestolencontent.Thisforgoesmeaningfulageandconsentverification,particularlybecausepornographysitesfailtoimplementtheirownageandconsentverificationmethods.HostingsuchrepositoriesfurtherdemonstratesGitHub’spivotalroleincontributingtoIBSAandsexualexploitation.

Similarrepositorieshostcodesfor“saveimage”bots.Thesearedeployedonsocialmediasites

suchas

Reddit

andareoftenusedtosavepornographicandnon-consensualsexuallyexplicitimagery.38

TheseareonlyafewoftheexamplesofIBSAandsexualexploitationoccurringasaresultofGitHub’slackofmoderationpractices.NCOSEurgesGitHubtobanrepositoriesdedicatedtothecreationofsexualdeepfakes,‘nudifying’apps/bots/sites,AI-generatedpornography,pornographicandsexuallyexplicitimage-scraping,and“savebots”onsocialmediasites.

GitHubisaprimaryactorinthedemocratizationofdevelopingsoftware,especiallygenerative-AI.NCOSEwelcomestechnologicalinnovationanddevelopment.However,thetraumaandembodiedharmsfromSSEMareunequivocal.WithoutGitHub’sproactivemoderationofsexuallyexploitativetechnologyandobscenecontent,IBSAwillcontinuetoproliferate.

Minors’AccessibilityandExposuretoPornographyandSexuallyExplicitContent

NCOSEisdeeplyconcernedabouttheextentoffeaturesonGitHubthatmayincreaseriskofharmtominors,suchas

limitedcontentmoderationpolicies

andalackofcaregiverandteacher/administrativecontrols.39

GitHubratesitselfas13+,andactivelypromotesnumerouseducationalopportunitiesforstudentsfrommiddleschooltocollegetolearnsoftwaredevelopmentandcoding.Over

1.5millionstudents

40signedupforthe

StudentDeveloperPack,

41gearedtowardminor-agedusersandstudent-teachercollaborationanddevelopmentonGitHub,by2019.GitHuballowsteachersandadministratorstoconnectGitHubaccountstolearningmanagementsystemssuchasGoogleClassroom,Canvas,andMoodle.TheuseofGoogleClassroominprimaryeducationexponentiallyroseduringthepandemicand

surpassed150millionstudent

users

by2021.42GitHubrequiresavalidemailtocreateanaccount,butfailstoimplementotherbasicsafetyfeaturesforstudents,suchasageverificationandmeaningfulcontentmoderation.

NCOSEresearchersdidnotfindevidenceofteacher/administrativesafetycontrolsforunderagestudentusers.Whileteacherscanrestrictpublicaccesstojoiningclassroomrepositories,“

bydefaultvisibilityto

studentrepositoriesispublic

.”43GitHubplacestheresponsibilityonadministratorstoupgradetheiraccountstoaccessprivatestudentrepositorycapabilities–forafee.Everychildshouldbesafeonline,especiallyinanenvironmentpromotedforhisorhereducationandlearningservices.GitHubisaskingparentsandteacherstoputapriceontheirchild’ssafety.Thisfeatureshouldbefreeandonbydefault.

Further,NCOSEresearchersalsodidnotfindevidenceofparentalcontrolsforunderageusers.Consideringtheopen-sourcedformatoftheplatformandtheamountofsexuallyexploitativesourcecodingavailable,parentalcontrolsareurgentlynecessarytofurtherprotectGitHub’syoungestusers.

GitHubisalreadyacomplexanddauntingplatformforevenknowledgeableusers,andisnotwidelyknownamongthegeneralpublic(includingparentsandguardians).Thesefactors,combinedwithitsopen-sourcedformat,andthelackofproactivecontentmoderation,givesminorsnearunmitigatedaccesstoGitHub’sslewofsexuallyexploitativetechnologysourcecodes.

Open-sourcedrepositoriesarecrucialtotheexchangeandaccessofinformationandtechnology,buttheymustnotcomeatthepriceofabuseandexploitationofothers.AssexualdeepfakesandAI-generatedpornographycontinuetogrowatunprecedentedrates,GitHubmustholditselfaccountableforprovidingsexuallyexploitativetechnologies.GitHubhasthechancetoslowIBSAfromthebeginning,aslimitedaccesstosexuallyexploitativetechnologywouldsignificantlyreduceitspresenceandvictimpool.

GitHubisinauniquepositiontoimplementmeaningfulchangeandleadtheindustryinethicalAItechnologyinnovation.Weareoptimisticthatyourcorporationwillrisetothechallenge.

Respectfully,

PatrickTrueman,Esq. DawnHawkins

President CEO

Cc:

MikeHanley,ChiefSecurityOfficer&SVPofEngineeringInbalShani,ChiefProductOfficer

ShelleyMcKinley,ChiefLegalOfficer

1IshanGaba,“WhatisGitHubAndHowToUseIt?”Lesson8,SimpliLearn,lastmodifiedFebruary3,2023,

/tutorials/git-tutorial/what-is-github.

2“Octoverse2022:TheStateofOpenSourceSoftware,”GitHub,accessedApril24,2023,

.

3“Let’sBuildfromHere,”GitHub,accessedApril24,2023,

.

4DamianBrady,“WhatDevelopersNeedtoKnowaboutGenerativeAI,”GitHubBlog,April7,2023,

https://github.blog/2023-

04-07-what-developers-need-to-know-about-generative-ai.

5HenryAjderetal.,TheStateofDeepfakes:Landscape,Threats,andImpact(Deeptrace,2019),

https://regmedia.co.uk/2019/10/08/deepfake_report.pdf;

HenryAjder,GiorgioPatrini,andFrancescoCavalli,AutomatingImageAbuse:DeepfakebotsonTelegram(Sensity,2020),

/wp-content/uploads/Sensity-

AutomatingImageAbuse.pdf

;RobVolkert,DeepFakes:UnderstandingtheIllicitEconomyforSyntheticMedia(Alexandria,VA:NISOS,2020),

/hubfs/6068438/Resources/NISOS%20-%20Deep%20Fakes%20White%20Paper.pdf;

EmanuelMaiberg,“ItTakes2ClickstoGetFrom‘DeepTomCruise’toVileDeepfakePorn,”Vice,May17,2022,

/en/article/qjb7b7/ethical-deepfakes-deep-tom-cruise-ai-generated-porn;

RachelWinterandAnastasiaSalter,“DeepFakes:UncoveringHardcoreOpenSourceonGitHub,”PornStudies7,no.4(2020):382-397,

doi:10.1080/23268743.2019.1642794.

6Ajderetal.,ibid;Ajder,Patrini,andCavalli,ibid;GiorgioPatrini,TheStateOfDeepfakes2020:UpdatesonStatisticsandTrends(Sensity,2021),

/books/about/The_State_of_Deepfakes_2020.html?id=--SBzgEACAAJ

;Volkert,ibid;HanyFa