GitHub在2024年被列为“脏十二大”名单因其推广和规范化使用AI生成的性虐待和性剥削

April3,2024

Mr.ThomasDohmkeCEO,GitHub

88ColinPKellyJrStSanFrancisco,CA94107

Mr.SatyaNadella

CEO,MicrosoftCorporationOneMicrosoftWayRedmond,WA98052

Re:GitHubon2024DirtyDozenListforProliferatingand

NormalizingAI-GeneratedSexualAbuseandExploitation

DearMr.DohmkeandMr.Nadella:

WearewritingtoadviseyouthatGitHubhasbeennamedtotheannualDirtyDozenListforthesecondconsecutiveyear.NCOSEisdeeplydisappointedthatsincebeingnamedtothe

2023DirtyDozenList,

1GitHubhasfailedtomakeanysubstantialchangestostemthegrowingtideofAI-generatedsexualabusecontentandexploitationfacilitatedbytheprojectsonyourplatform.Assuch,GitHubremainstheworld’shubforcreatingsexuallyexploitativetechnology.TheListwillbepubliclyreleasedonWednesday,April10,2024.

WithGitHubbeingoneoftheworld'sleadingcode-hostingcommunitiesandthemostprominentcode-hostingplatformforversioncontrol1andcollaboration–

particularlygenerativeAI

–GitHubhasincrediblepower,reach,andinfluence.2However,thispowerfulpositioncomeswithimmenseresponsibility—aresponsibilitythat,regrettably,hasbeensorelyneglected.

GitHub'scurrent“developer-first”approachtocontentmoderationandlaxpolicyenforcementhasallowedfortheproliferationofprojectsfocusedonthecreationofnon-consensualsexuallyexplicitdeepfakeimagery.Forexample,NCOSEresearchersidentifieda20%increasein“nudification”repositoriesonGitHubbetweenMay2023and

1

Versioncontrol

istheprocessofmanagingchangestosourcecode(codeshostedonGitHub).Thinkoftrackedchanges,versionhistoryandnumber,andshowingmarkupinWordorGoogleDocs.

PAGE

10

February2024.ThelackofoversightonGitHubalsocontributestothealarmingincreaseinAI-generatedchildsexualabusematerial(CSAM).3GitHubcurrentlyhostsopen-sourcemodelsthataretrainedusingCSAMandthatcreateAI-generatedCSAM.

GitHub'sRoleintheEgregiousExpansionofAI-GeneratedChildSexualAbuseMaterial(CSAM)

GitHub'sfailuretoactagainstdeepfakepornographyandbanprojectslikeDeepFaceLabiscontributingtotherisingprevalenceofAI-generatedchildsexualabusematerial.Throughyourpermissiveattitudeandlackofproactivemoderationofsexuallyexploitativetechnology,youhaveloweredbarrierstoentryintoopen-sourcedsexualexploitationandabuse.

Thisyearalone,hundredsofthousandsofimagesofAI-generatedCSAMhavebeenreportedacrosstheglobe:NCMEC,IWF,PresidentBidenandVPHarris,theFBI,attorneysgeneralfrom54USstatesandterritories,theEU,Thorn,NCOSE,andmanyothershavehighlightedAI-generatedCSAMasanimminentandrapidlydevelopingthreattochildrenglobally.4ThedisturbingconsequencesofGitHub’sreluctancetoactonsexuallyexploitativetechnologyforthelastfiveyearshasresultedintheuseofsuchtechnologytoexploitandabuseminorsinunimaginableways.AccordingtotheIreland-basedreportinghotline,

Hotline.ie,

in2022,theyfound5,105casesofclassifiedCSAMcontainingcomputer-generatedimagery(37%ofallCSAMreports),comparedto1,329cases(9%)in2021.5

Overnineoutoften

casesofAI-generatedCSAMcontainedpreteens

,andtwo-thirdswerefoundto“displayadultssubjectingchildrentopenetrativesexualactivity,andbestialityorsadisticelements.”6

InDecember2023,theStanfordInternetObservatoryidentifiedmorethan3,200imagesofsuspectedCSAM7inthe

LAION-5B

8(onGitHub)trainingset,thedatabehindpopulargenerativeAIplatformStableDiffusion.

GitHubhostssourcecodes,collaborations,andcommunitiesfosteringthegrowthandnormalizationoftechnologyusedtocreatedAI-generatedCSAM.Inparticular,thepopularrepositoryAUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webuihasgarneredsignificantattention.Despiteitscreationofsexuallyexplicitandillicitcontent,accordingtoGitHub,thisprojectwasthe

secondmost

popularrepository

taggedwith‘artificialintelligence’in2023.9Thelackofdefaultedcontentfiltersallowsbadactorstousethiscodeforexploitativeandillicitpurposes.

Forexample,thisrepositorywastemporarilysuspendedinlate2022duetoprovisionoftextualembeddingsthatfacilitatedthecreationof

sexuallyexplicitimagesofindividualswhoappearedtobe

minors.

10Itwasreinstatedinearly2023aftertheremovaloftheallegedlyoffensivelinks.

Unfortunately,evidenceshowsthatthesebannedlinksarestillaccessiblethroughGitHub.

InJune2023,onlyafewmonthsafterbeingreinstatedonGitHub,a

BBCinvestigation

foundthatthesameproject,AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webui,wasusedtocreateAI-generatedCSAMthatwasbeingboughtandsoldonPatreon.11

WhileGitHubimplementsautomateddetectiontoolssuchasPhotoDNAto

proactivelyscanforchild

sexualabusematerial

(CSAM),12youfailtoimplementcomprehensivemoderationpracticesbypermittingtechnology

foundtohavegeneratedCSAM

,13insteadonlymoderatingforCSAMitself.

EvenwhenGitHubdoesusePhotoDNAtoidentifyandreporttotheNationalCenterforMissingandExploitedChildren(NCMEC),thesereportshavefailedtobesufficientenoughforNCMECtotakeanyaction.In2022,

GitHubwasoneof36ESPs

withmorethan90%ofreportslackingactionableinformation.14ThismeantGitHub’sreportsweresovaguethatNCMECcouldn'tdeterminewherethecrimehappened,orwhichlawenforcementagencyshouldreceivethereport.

NCOSEcannotstressenoughtheoutrightdamagingimpactyourdecisions—orrather,lackthereof—haveincurred.Livesarebeingruined,reputationsdestroyed,andtheinnocenceofchildrenstolen.Yet,GitHubremainssilent,prioritizingdevelopersoverthevictimsimpactedbythetechnologybeingdeveloped.

Image-BasedSexualAbuse(IBSA)isFacilitatedonandThroughGitHub

GitHub’splatform,whileclaimingtofosterinnovationandcollaborationwithinthesoftwaredevelopmentcommunity,hasshamefullybecomeamajorfacilitatorofimage-basedsexualabuse(IBSA).Despitebeingnamedtothe2023DirtyDozenList,GitHubstillallowsthehostinganddistributionofrepositoriesthataredirectlyinvolvedincreatingandcirculatingsyntheticsexuallyexplicitmaterial(SSEM).Thisisanalarmingandcondemnablesituationthatdemandsimmediateaction.

BecauseofGitHub’sfailuretoeffectivelyremovetheoriginalDeepNudesourcecode,banreplications,andmoderateGitHubforDeepNude-likereplicas,“copycat”nudifyingappsandbotscontinuetoproliferate.ANovember2023studybyGraphikafoundthenumberoflinksadvertising‘undressingapps’

increasedmorethan2,400%

from2022to2023onsocialmedia,includingonXandReddit.15

NCOSEresearchersfoundatroubling20%increaseinnudificationrepositoriesoverthelastninemonths,increasingfrom54repositoriesinMay2023to68repositoriesinFebruary2024,withthe

originalsource

codeforDeepNude

stillactiveonGitHub’ssite.GitHubremainsamajorhubforsexuallyexploitativetools.16

Itisalarmingtonotethatthethreemostpopularrepositoriestaggedwith“deepfakes”onGitHub,namelydeepfakes/faceswap,iperov/DeepFaceLab,andyuanxiaosc/DeepNude-an-Image-to-Image-technology,depictedintheimagebelow,areutilizedforcreatingnon-consensualsexuallyexplicitdeepfakeimagery.DespiteGitHubbanningorsuspendingtheserepositoriesinthepast,theyremainhighlypopularintermsoffavorites(stars)andforks(replications),highlightingsignificantflawsinGitHub'sdeveloper-firstcontentmoderationpractices.Whileresearchshowsthat

oneineverythree

deepfakemodelsispornographic,

17thethreemostpopularrepositoriestaggedwith“deepfakes”areusedforthecreationofsyntheticsexuallyexplicitmaterial(SSEM)onGitHub–somehowbeatingthestatisticalodds.

CapturedFebruary14,2024

Further,somerepositoriesevenguideusersonhowtousesexuallyexploitativecodesonGitHubto

developbotsonotherplatformsto“strip”womenoftheirclothing.

Consideringthefactthatdeveloperinterestindeepfaketechnologyisthe

mostcommonreasonmen

watchdeepfakepornography(57%),

followedbycelebrityinterest(48%),andfulfillingpersonalizedsexualfantasies(33%),18itisnotsurprisingthattheinitialdeepfakeandnudificationtechnologieswerecreatedby“

interestedprogrammers,

”ratherthanexperienceddevelopers.19

Thisnetworkof“interestedprogrammers”extendsbeyondGitHub’ssiteandencompassesplatformslike

Reddit,

Discord,

and

Telegram,

drawingfromsoftwarethatisrootedinGitHub'svastnetworkofsexuallyexploitativerepositories.Consequently,thecirculationofdeepfakecontentforsexualexploitationisawidespreadandgrowingproblem.AccordingtoaDecember2023researchstudyby

HomeSecurity

Heroes,

theavailabilityofdeepfakepornographyonlinehaswitnessedastaggering

increaseof550%

between2019and2023.20

GitHubisalsodirectlyconnectedtodedicateddeepfakepornographywebsitesallowinglinksandscrapersforsiteslike

CelebJihad,

21oneofthe

originsites

22ofTaylorSwift'sdeepfakeabusedistribution,andMr.DeepFakes,themostprolificdeepfakepornographywebsiteintheUnitedStates.GitHubstillhoststhesourcecodeforMr.DeepFakesand

DeepFaceLab

23andremainsoneofthe

top10

referralsites

24toMr.DeepFakesasofFebruary2024.ThisplacesGitHubatthecenterofasocialpandemonium,promotingthesexualviolationofwomenthroughnon-consensualdeepfakeimagery.

Twothingshaveremainedthesamewithdeepfakessince2019:

theirpurpose–pornography,andtheir

target–women.

25SimilartoSensityAI’sfindingsin2019and2021,26thesamestudyby

HomeSecurity

Hereos

27foundthat98%ofalldeepfakevideosavailableonlinewereofpornographyand99%ofallforged(deepfake)pornographyfeatureswomen.

InsufficientContentModerationPracticesandNegligiblePolicyEnforcement

Theoverwhelmingproliferationofopen-sourceprojectsonGitHubthatenablesexuallyexploitativecontentamplifiestheaccessibilityoftechnologydesignedtoperpetrateimage-basedsexualabuse(IBSA),AI-generatedCSAM,andexposeminorstosexuallyexploitativecontentandprojects.

GitHuballowsdeveloperstoremainanonymous,whichaidsthemindistancingthemselvesfromcontroversywhilecontributingtoobjectionablecodesorformingcovertnetworkstocollaborateonsexuallyexploitativetechnologies.

GitHub'strackrecordindealingwithproblematicprojectsrelatedtosexualexploitationismorethanconcerning.AsofFebruary2024,theoriginalDeepNuderepositoryanditsTelegramlink(nowdefunct),alongwithotherrepositorieshostingthe

originalsourcecodeforDeepNude,

28existonGitHub.ThishighlightsadiscrepancybetweenGitHub’s

2019publicstanceandpromises

29tobanDeepNudeandallDeepNude-likeprojectsandyouractualpractices.

Further,theeaseofaccesstoprojectsusingsimilarortheoriginalsourcecodetoDeepNude,amassing4K+forks(replications)onGitHub,illustratesaseveregapinthecontentmoderationpoliciesthatmustbeaddressed.

CapturedFebruary14,2024

NCOSEisdeeplyconcernedabouttheextentoffeaturesonGitHubthatmayincreaseriskofharmtominors,suchas

limitedcontentmoderationpolicies

andalackofcaregiverandteacher/administrativecontrols.30

Forexample,a15-year-oldboywhohadbeencreatingandsharingdeepfakeandnudity-relatedcodesonGitHubrecentlylefttheplatformduetopsychologicalandlegalrepercussions.Inasecondfarewellmessage,heexpressedacommitmenttothe“nudify”community,embeddingHTMLtextwiththesourcecodeandinstructions,andupondownloadingit,explicitdeepfakepornographyfeaturingcelebritieswasdisplayed.

TheteenageboythensuggestedthatinteresteddevelopersusetheDeepFaceLabguideformore‘realistic’generations,whichisonlyaccessiblebyaccessingthemostprolificdeepfakepornographywebsite,Mr.DeepFakes.

ThissinglenarrativeexperienceraisesseveralconcernsrelatedtoaminorcreatingandaccessingharmfulandpotentiallyillegalcontentonGitHub.

Evenwhenclearlyharmfulandexploitativerepositories,likeonedescribedabove,arebroughttoyourattention,noactionistaken.Despitebeingnamedtothe2023DirtyDozenList,NCOSEalertingaMicrosoftcontactwemetatINHOPE2023,andsubmittingnumerousreportsthroughyourofficialreportingformbackinNovember2023aboutthesexuallyexploitativerepositoriesonyourplatform,withafollow-upemailforeachreportinDecember2023,NCOSEhasyettoreceiveanythingmorethananautomatedemailstating,“Hi,OurteamiscurrentlyinvestigatingtheaccountinquestiontodetermineiftheircontentorconductviolatesGitHub's

TermsofService

.”31

Yourcurrentstance–thatthe

removalofasingleproject

32isbelievedtocausesignificantdownstreameffectsforcountlesssoftwareprojects–failstoacknowledgetheprofoundimpactaprojectmayhaveonthosewhohaveenduredandcontinuetosufferfromsexualabuseandexploitation.Theremovalofasingleprojectcouldundoubtedlyhavesignificantupstreameffectsforcountlessvictim-survivorsofIBSA,SSEM,andAI-generatedCSAM.

Despitetheevidentviolationsandabuses,GitHubremainsfocusedonputtingtheneedsofdevelopersoverthoseofvictimsofsexualabuseandexploitation.Theproliferationofdeepfaketechnologiesandtheeasewithwhichtheycanbesharedanddistributedisasevereconcern.GitHubmustremoveandblocktoolsusedforimage-basedsexualabuseandAI-generatedCSAMontheplatform.Thewell-beingandsafetyofindividuals,particularlywomenandchildrenwhoaredisproportionatelyaffectedbydeepfakeabuse,mustbeprioritized.

NCOSErequestsGitHubmakethefollowingimprovements:

Banprivateandpublicrepositoriesdedicatedtosexualdeepfake,‘nudifying,’andAI-generatedpornographysoftwaredevelopmentfromGitHub.Thisincludesremovingcurrentrepositoriesandpreventingthereplicationofrelatedrepositoriesforsexuallyexploitativetechnologysoftwaredevelopment.

BanprivateandpublicpornographyandsexuallyexplicitimageryscrapingrepositoriesfromGitHub.Thisincludesremovingcurrentrepositoriesandpreventingthereplicationofrelatedrepositoriesforpurposesofpornographyandsexuallyexplicitimageryscrapingsoftwaredevelopment.

ProactivelymoderatecontentandcommunityforumsonGitHub.

Defaultmiddleandhigh-schoolstudentrepositoriesto‘private’topreventminors’exposure

totheabundanceofharmfulcontentonGitHub.

Implementbasic,industry-widesafetystandards:parentalcontrols,teacher/administrativecontrols,andage-gaterepositoriesinappropriateforminor-agedusers.

Wehaveattachedthe2023notificationletterwesenttoGitHublastyearforreference.Thankyouforyourattention,

DawnHawkins KindseyP.Chadwick

CEO InterimPresident

Cc:

MikeHanley,ChiefSecurityOfficerandSeniorVicePresidentofEngineeringInbalShani,ChiefProductOfficer

ShelleyMcKinley,ChiefLegalOfficerMargaretTucker,PublicPolicyManager

ScottGuthrie,ExecutiveVicePresident,Cloud+AIGroup,MicrosoftRanjaniMani,DirectorofGenAI,Microsoft

Attached:2023DirtyDozenListNotificationLettertoGitHub

1NCOSE,“GitHubNotificationLetterDirtyDozenList2023,”April28,2023,

/wp-

content/uploads/Microsoft-GitHub-Notification-Letter_DDL-2023_FINAL.pdf.

2KyleDaigle,“Octoverse:TheStateofOpenSourceandRiseofAIin2023,”GitHubBlog,November8,2023,

https://github.blog/2023-11-08-the-state-of-open-source-and-ai.

3DavidThiel,MelissaStroebel,andRebeccaPortnoff,GenerativeMLandCSAM:ImplicationsandMitigations(ThornandStanfordInternetObservatory,June24,2023),/file/druid:jv206yg3793/20230624-sio-cg-csam-report.pdf.

4Thiel,Stroebel,andPortnoff,ibid;HaleyMcNamara(NCOSE),“YourDaughter’sFaceCouldBeHijackedFor‘Deepfake’Porn,”TheFederalist,December4,2023,

/2023/12/04/your-daughters-face-could-be-hijacked-for-

deepfake-porn;

DavidThiel,“InvestigationFindsAIImageGenerationModelsTrainedonChildAbuse,”StanfordCyberPolicyCenterBlog,December20,2023,

/news/investigation-finds-ai-image-generation-models-

trained-child-abuse;

IWF,HowAIisBeingAbusedtoCreateChildSexualAbuseImagery(InternetWatchFoundation,October2023),

.uk/media/q4zll2ya/iwf-ai-csam-report_public-oct23v1.pdf;

NationalAssociationofAttorneysGeneral(NAAG),“54AttorneysGeneralCallonCongresstoStudyAIandItsHarmfulEffectsonChildren,”

newsrelease,September5,2023,

/press-releases/54-attorneys-general-call-on-congress-to-study-ai-and-

its-harmful-effects-on-children;

DavidThiel,IdentifyingandEliminatingCSAMinGenerativeMLTrainingDataandModels(StanfordInternetObservatory,December21,2023),/file/druid:kh752sm9123/ml_training_data_csam_report-2023-12-21.pdf;TheWhiteHouse,“ExecutiveOrderontheSafe,Secure,andTrustworthyDevelopmentandUseofArtificialIntelligence,”PresidentialActions,October30,2023,

/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/30/executive-order-on-

the-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence

;Hotline.ie,Hotline.ieAnnualReport2022(Dublin,Ireland:Hotline.ie,2023),

https://www.hotline.ie/library/annual-reports/2023/Hotline-ie-Annual-Report-2022.pdf.

5CormacO’Keeffe,“AIDrivingChildSexAbuseImagery,”IrishExaminer,January19,2024,

/news/arid-41312179.html.

6Hotline.ie,ibid.

7DavidThiel,IdentifyingandEliminatingCSAMinGenerativeMLTrainingDataandModels(StanfordInternetObservatory,December21,2023),/file/druid:kh752sm9123/ml_training_data_csam_report-2023-12-21.pdf.

8“LAION-AI,”GitHub,accessedMarch4,2024,

/LAION-AI.

9AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webui,“Compare:TextualInversion,”GitHub,accessedMarch4,2024,

/AUTOMATIC1111/stable-diffusion-webui/wiki/Textual-

Inversion/_compare/9d7346f7f3faa275305cc4a388a3335a0f53961b...bc9a09829dbc90760c8626c83824e05cfab5cb98

.

10Ibid.

11AngusCrawfordandTonySmith,“IllegalTradeinAIChildSexAbuseImagesExposed,”BBC,June28,2023,

/news/uk-65932372.

12KevinXu,“2022TransparencyReport,”GitHubBlog,February15,2023,

https://github.blog/2023-02-15-2022-

transparency-report.

13EmanuelMaiberg,“ItTakes2ClickstoGetFrom‘DeepTomCruise’toVileDeepfakePorn,”Vice,May17,2022,

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

14NationalCenterforMissing&ExploitedChildren,“CyberTipline2022Report,”accessedMarch5,2024,

/cybertiplinedata.

15MargiMurphy,“‘Nudify’AppsThatUseAIto‘Undress’WomeninPhotosAreSoaringinPopularity,”Time,December8,2023,

/6344068/nudify-apps-undress-photos-women-artificial-intelligence.

16OrgTestCodacy11KRepos110MB,“repo-2245-DeepNude-an-Image-to-Image-technology,”GitHub,accessedMarch4,

2024,

/orgTestCodacy11KRepos110MB/repo-2245-DeepNude-an-Image-to-Image-technology.

17HomeSecurityHeroes,“2023StateofDeepfakes:Realities,Threats,andImpact,”accessedMarch5,2024,

/state-of-deepfakes

.

18HomeSecurityHeroes,“2023StateofDeepfakes,”Infographic,accessedMarch5,2024,

/state-of-deepfakes/assets/pdf/state-of-deepfake-infographic-2023.pdf.

19VictoriaRousay,“SexualDeepfakesandImage-BasedSexualAbuse:Victim-SurvivorExperiencesandEmbodiedHarms”

(Master'sthesis,HarvardUniversity,2023),

/handle/1/37374909.

20HomeSecurityHeroes,“2023StateofDeepfakes,”Infographic,ibid.

21Takagotch,“CelebJihad,”GitHub,accessedMarch4,2024,

/takagotch/CelebJihad

.

22LewisPennock,“CelebJihad–TheWebsitethatPostedDeepfakeAIPornofTaylorSwift–HasBeenSharingExplicitImagesofCelebritiesforYEARSWithoutPunishment–AndwasThreatenedbythePopStar'sLawyersin2011OverFakeToplessPhoto,”DailyMail,January25,2024,

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13006441/celeb-jihad-deepfake-

taylor-swift.html.

23Iperov,“DeepFaceLab,”GitHub,archivedNovember9,2023,accessedMarch5,2024,

/iperov/DeepFaceLab.

24SimilarWeb,“M,”accessedMarch5,2024,

/website//#referrals.

25HomeSecurityHeroes,“2023StateofDeepfakes,”Infographic,ibid.

26HenryAjderetal.,TheStateofDeepfakes:Landscape,Threats,andImpact(Deeptrace,2019),

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

GiorgioPatrini,TheStateOfDeepfakes2020:UpdatesonStatisticsandTrends(Sensity,2021),

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

.

27HomeSecurityHeroes,“2023StateofDeepfakes,”Infographic,ibid.

28OrgTestCodacy11KRepos110MB,ibid.

29Maiberg,ibid.

30DaphneLeprince-Ringuet,“GitHub:WeWon'tTakeDownAnyofYourContentUnlessWeReallyHaveto,”ZDNET,February21,2020,

/article/github-we-wont-take-down-any-of-your-content-unless-we-really-have-to.

31“GitHubTermsofService,”GitHubDocs,accessedMarch4,2024,

/site-policy/github-

terms/github-terms-of-service.

32ShelleyMcKinley,“Don’tLeaveDevelopersBehindintheSection230Debate,”GitHubBlog,March10,2023,

https://github.blog/2023-03-10-dont-leave-developers-behind-in-the-section-230-debate.

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,GitHubhasalsoearneditselfatitleasasignifican