Top Spot of the Week: Deutsche Telekom, adam&eveBerlin, Director Sergej Moya Deliver "A Message From Ella"

This campaign for Deutsche Telekom by adam&eveBerlin sheds light on the increasing risks associated with data misuse and artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in the context of sharenting.

Under the hashtag #ShareWithCare, Deutsche Telekom aims to promote responsible handling of personal data, specifically focusing on the protection of children’s images. The campaign kicks off with a powerful deepfake video titled “A Message from Ella,” highlighting the consequences of sharing children’s photos on the internet. Through this thought-provoking hero film directed by Sergej Moya via Berlin-based production company Tempomedia, Telekom raises awareness about the practice of sharenting, where parents share personal details and images of their children’s lives online.

The image of a nine-year-old actress, called “Ella,” acts as the film’s protagonist. With the help of the latest AI technology, a deepfake of the girl was created. Deepfakes are videos, images, or even sounds artificially generated by machine learning. In the video, you can see how the “grown-up Ella” turns to her surprised parents. She sends a warning from the future and confronts mother and father with the consequences of sharing pictures of their child on the internet. For the first time, a virtually aged deepfake of a 9-year-old child has been created so that she can act and argue like an adult woman. Ella is representative of an entire generation of children.

Experts predict that by 2030, two-thirds of all cases of identity theft will occur in this way (source: The New Yorker). By carelessly sharing children’s photos and other data, such as names or ages, via social media and short messaging services, guardians unintentionally expose children to risks. Possible consequences include profiling by data brokers, hacking, facial recognition, pedophilia and other threats to privacy and security.