Deepsukebe nonconsensual nudification

Deepsukebe is an app launched in 2020 that creates nonconsensual pornography by undressing people using deepfake technology. It says its mission is to ‘make all men’s dreams come true',

Users can 'nudify' one picture for free every two hours, pay a fee in cryptocurrency for a specified number of additional photos, or earn up to 100 freebies without restrictions through a referral reward that incentivises people to promote the website online.

Reaction

Users praise Deepsukebe for the quality of its images and the speed with which they are made. The site reputedly garners millions of visits a month and has had hundreds of thousands of images uploaded to it, including nudified images of celebrities and sportspeople.

But the service has been castigated by digital rights organisations, privacy advocates, and politicians. UK member of parliament Maria Miller and others called in August 2021 for Deepsukebe to be banned. 

Shortly after Miller's complaint, The Sunday Times revealed that Mastercard and Visa were listed as approved payment suppliers on Deepsukebe's website. 

The service quickly switched to offer cryptocurrency payments through Coinbase, despite the crypto exchange’s terms explicitly prohibiting illegal, obscene, and abusive usage. It appears Coinbase later cut Deepsukebe off.

In December 2021, WIRED reported that Deepsukebe had launched a decentralised partner programme apparently in part designed to avoid the service being taken offline. 

Transparency

It is unclear who is behind Deepsukebe, how its system works, and what impacts - direct and indirect - it has on those whose images are uploaded to and manipulated on its platform.