This raises the next question of whether NSFW AI is legal everywhere depending on regulations throughout other countries. Locally, the standards for AI moderation — discriminatorily applied to NSFW content — are quite far-reaching. For example, in the European Union there are very strict rules on how AI that contain personal data such as biometric or sensitive information identified by NSFW systems should be processed (General Data Protection Regulation/GDPR). Fines can reach up to €20 million or 4% of the global turnover for businesses thats transgress GDPR laws. Libraries and schools in the UK must comply with stringent data protection laws; but over 200 state bills on AI have been introduced so far this year, including two federal ones just last week. The U.S., by comparison, lacks any unified federal law -- only a patchwork of less-stringent state-level regulations that make it easier for companies to build such systems.
China does things a bit differently than its pals in Asia, with the Cyberspace Administration — opaque even by Kremlin standards (watch Snowden) — ordering tighter official scrutiny of AI content moderation tools. Not only will politically sensitive content be censored, but even the NSFW detection technology is regulated. Content monitoring in real-time and provision of immediate reports on violations are compulsory for companies working from China, indicating that the digital milieu has a strong government shadow. By contrast, Japan is more relaxed in their regulation but companies are still expected to maintain privacy and content-protection standards.
In one of the most high-profile cases, Australia passed its Online Safety Act in 2021 where it required tech companies to use AI systems for finding and removing harmful material like NSFW content; Non-compliance could result in fines of up to AUD 555,000. In one corner we have federal laws different states and regions must adhere to, which would limit the areas in which NSFW AI is allowed.
Kate Crawford, legal expert and AI ethics advocate said “The legality of AI is deeply dependent upon the processing (…) mode of data utilized as well as societal values in its region.” Her comment reminds that such frameworks are likely to reflect local cultural standards and would favour or hinder the development of NSFW AI.
That means NSFW AI is legal across the board, right? The answer is nuanced. The tech is legal in quite a few places, but it also has some conditions on transprency and data usage for ethical use. While companies such as nsfw ai offer solutions which comply with these legal standards while making the products safer, individual deployments will have to consider that whatever legality content might be subjected to in their operating region. Consequently, while the technology is widely available across the globe its legal application leans heavily on jurisdictional regulations and cultural nuance.