We absolutely understand the concern around deepfakes, so we make it easy for it to be removed,” Hawkins says. “Content uploaded without necessary permission being obtained is in violation of our Terms of Use and will be removed once identified.” Hawkins adds that the dozens of videos appearing as deepfakes on xHamster, which were highlighted by WIRED, have been passed onto its moderation team to be reviewed.

Most parents probably think, ‘Well that’s not my kid.’ But the numbers are overwhelming, so it probably is your kid,” said Jim Steyer, Common Sense Media founder and CEO. “This is an incredibly important public health and sexual health issue that’s literally being buried by parents, by educators and by all of us.”

YouTube did not immediately respond to a Daily Dot request for comment on Wednesday morning. But it seems clear that protecting the children who spend time on the platform is not yet—or might never be—a job that is officially done. To Dr. Lisa Damour, the new data isn’t a surprise. “Teenagers are exposed to pornography far more often than many adults assume,” said Damour, an Ohio-based clinical psychologist specializing in the development of teenage girls.

One commenter linked a time stamp where the girl nearly showed her undergarments and instructs viewers to slow down the video to .25 of its normal speed. Most teens reported seeing violent or aggressive forms of pornography, including 52% who reported having seen pornography depicting what appears to be rape, choking or someone in pain, the report said. Only about 33% reported seeing content where someone asks for consent. While YouTube tries to protect children f rom disturbing and obscene content, people who enjoy watching kids star in their own videos are still free to write whatever they want in those videos’ comment sections.Some of this technology is improving so fast, because there's so much energy and drive, unfortunately, from the creators’ side,” Patrini says. “I think we're going to be seeing it applied very soon with much larger intent to private individuals.” He believes when the technology is easy for anyone to use there will be a “tipping point” when lawmakers will become aware of the problems. Other videos that appear to be Russian show thumbnails of young girls in bathing suits in the bathtub, and another vlog in which a young girl tells about her nighttime routine has accumulated more than 1.3 million views.

As the ORKA YouTube channel points out in a video that has accumulated nearly 150,000 views in two days, there are large numbers of videos starring children that have attracted commenters that seem to be attracted to those children. Alex Hawkins, VP of xHamster, says the company doesn’t have a specific policy for deepfakes but treats them “like any other nonconsensual content.” Hawkins says that the company’s moderation process involves multiple different steps, and it will remove videos if people’s images are used without permission. Update 11:30am CT : YouTube responded to the Daily Dot by reiterating that content that endangers minors is unacceptable and that it aggressively enforces its policies against videos and comments that sexualize or exploit children. YouTube also pointed to its blog post in 2017 that announced how it was toughening its policies that would make children and families safer, including “a combination of automated systems and human flagging and review to remove inappropriate sexual or predatory comments on videos featuring minors.”

8. Linda, Honey, Just Listen: 2014

Clare McGlynn, a professor at the Durham Law School who specializes in pornography regulations and sexual abuse images, agrees. “What this shows is the looming problem that is going to come for non-celebrities,” she says. “This is a serious issue for celebrities and others in the public eye. But my long­standing concern, speaking to survivors who are not celebrities, is the risk of what is coming down the line.” If you don’t know where to start, Damour recommended something like: “I know that kids often end up seeing porn online. Here’s what I want you to know if that happens to you: The intimacy depicted in porn is rarely the loving, tender, mutual intimacy that characterizes a healthy love life. If you do end up seeing it, please know that I’m here to answer any questions you might have.”