A system against fake images on the Internet: What is C2PA?

C2PA is an open technical standard that is intended to help expose manipulated images and videos on the Internet. The aim of the association of the same name, which includes many well-known companies, is to restore trust in digital content and combat misinformation. But how does C2Pa work?

Generative AI can now be used to create images and videos that are almost true to life. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the untrained eye to distinguish real content from fake content. However, the spread of manipulated images and videos can have devastating effects, particularly in sensitive areas such as political elections or current news.

The C2PA standard was developed to combat the problem. The system is designed to ensure that people are always able to verify digital content using embedded metadata, as this can reveal authenticity and possible editing.

What is C2PA?

The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) is an open technical standard that was developed to ensure the authenticity of digital content. Large companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, Google and others support this standard and are part of an association of the same name.

C2PA uses cryptographic signatures to verify the origin and possible manipulation of images and other digital content. This seems increasingly important at a time when generative AI is increasingly being used to create fake images and videos that are difficult to distinguish from real content.

The C2PA standard works by embedding metadata that includes, among other things, the time of creation, camera settings and possible changes to the image. The system embeds this information in the file. This should enable verification that reveals whether an image is authentic or has been altered using AI or other editing tools.

How does C2PA work?

The function of C2PA can be described in three steps. First, content creators – such as camera manufacturers or software developers – must adopt the C2PA standard. Some cameras, such as models from Sony and Leica, already support embedding cryptographic signatures in photos.

Image editing programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom are also able to use and specify these signatures. These include information about when and how an image was edited using the software.

Second, online platforms such as social networks would need to make it possible to read this metadata and display it to users. However, there are currently major gaps in implementation, so many platforms do not yet contain this information.

Third, users must be able to review and interpret the metadata themselves. While platforms like Facebook and Instagram have already started adding AI markers to content, the adoption of this technology is still limited.

Challenges of implementation

Although C2PA offers a robust standard, widespread adoption has been slow so far. A major problem is interoperability, as many platforms and devices do not yet support the standard. People often use their smartphones to take photos, but these do not yet support C2PA.

In addition, there is currently no uniform approach as to how social networks display metadata for their users.

Despite these challenges, the C2PA standard reveals a promising solution to the problem of digital content authenticity. In a world increasingly driven by AI-generated content, it could help expose fakes and restore trust in digital media.

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