Reddit Changes Rules To Allow 'Simpsons' Porn

You can share all the artificial intelligence-generated pornography you like—so long as it is of fictional characters, social media platform Reddit has ruled.

In an update to its user guidelines on Wednesday, the online forum said that while explicit content of real people was prohibited, along with pornography of people that had been uploaded without their consent, this did not apply for "AI-generated sexual media that depicts fictional people or characters."

In particular, it noted that sexualized fan art of cartoons and anime—animations that first originated in Japan—were allowed to continue being shared on the platform uninhibited, meaning sex scenes of the Simpsons or Scooby Doo are permitted.

Before the rule change, it was unclear whether cartoon porn was allowed, although dedicated sub-reddits existed unhindered. The rules now clearly state that such pornographic imagery is permitted.

So-called Rule 34 porn has existed almost as long as the internet has been used worldwide. The tongue-in-cheek maxim states that "if it exists, there is porn of it," and has largely been proven to be true.

But while this porn used to require the attention of an enthusiast to make, the advent of consumer AI generation software has allowed users to automate much of the process. However, some have used it to portray real-life individuals in lewd contexts.

Deepfaked explicit content depicting unwitting celebrities has grown in popularity in recent years, with many platforms, including Reddit, seeking to ban the practice from their sites.

In these cases, AI is trained using images of the famous face to superimpose it on another body, usually of an adult film actor. Recently, one app advertised its ability to manufacture intimate images of Emma Watson and Scarlett Johansson.

Reddit has outlawed deepfaked explicit media or "lookalike" pornography on its platform, as well as "leaked, stolen or privately-shared" images of an individual and "upskirt" imagery, which involves inappropriate images of people in public, usually taken without their consent.

This is one of many responses online platforms had to tackle the rise of revenge porn, the malicious dissemination of intimate images or videos, usually an act of retribution by a jilted lover. As well as being illegal in several European nations, the practice is outlawed to varying degrees in all but nine U.S. states.

According to online technology publication The Verge, in 2018, Reddit gave a carve-out of its explicit content policy allowing the distribution of commercial pornographic clips, as those depicted have given their consent to appear nude—and now, of fictitious characters, who have no capacity to object to being objectified.

However, its updated policy also notes that users should "keep in mind our rules regarding respecting the intellectual property of others."

As AI technology improves, though, it is unclear how Reddit intends to police this new rule—specifically how it will discern faked porn of real people from realistic AI porn that is of entirely manufactured individuals. AI images are appearing increasingly uncanny when compared to the real thing.

Newsweek approached Reddit via email for comment on Friday.