"Fauxtography" Newest Challenge for Judges, Defense Lawyers
The availability of increasingly advanced digital technology has had a significant impact on the world of criminal defense. Total Lawyers has recently reported on the role cell phone evidence and highly technical shows like CSI have on criminal trials. And the latest force influencing the legal system seems to be Adobe Photoshop.
According to the Associated Press and redorbit.com, researchers at Binghamton University and Dartmouth College are devoting time to developing methods of detecting digital photographic alterations. Or, as most people would say, they're working on ways to figure out if an image has been "Photoshopped."
Several groups, such as law enforcers, defense lawyers and news reporters, have reportedly expressed interest in having such detection software available. Being able to identify inauthentic evidence photographs could improve courtroom accuracy and help news reporters determine whether or not a story has been fabricated.
A recent incident in China highlights the power Photoshop can have on the public:
After a government-controlled media outlet released a doctored image of an endangered species of antelope running below a newly-built and highly controversial train, several parties called the publisher's bluff. According to arstechnica.com, the man responsible for the image admitted that he'd used digital alteration techniques to mesh two images together: that of the antelope and that of the train.
The government reportedly issued a public apology and the environmentalists responsible for the detection remained unconvinced that the new train would have no effect on the already struggling antelope.
And, though Adobe is evidently funding some of the alteration-detection research, experts in the field have noted that the ultimate test remains that of the naked eye. In other words, though researchers have gotten closer to creating methods for spotting digital alterations electronically, human viewers are still key to verifying a photo's authenticity - if an image looks fake, it likely is.
Sources indicate that some researchers focus on the tiny imperfections in each camera that are invisible to the human eye and could indicate tampering. For example, if one pixel is consistently dark but appears lightened in an image, a copy-paste operation could have occurred.
Others, it seems, dedicate their resources to examining inconsistencies in lighting/shadow and color "normality." Adobe Systems, Photoshop's parent company, reportedly plans to develop software that applies the detection methods to identify doctored photos.
But not everyone is enthusiastic about the potential applications of this research.
Michael Cherry, vice chairman of the Digital Technology Committee of the National Association of Defense Attorneys, has apparently expressed reluctance to embrace detection technology. Cherry has reportedly pointed out that not all imperfections in digital images come from tampering.
And then there's the concern from Adobe Systems that, if detection software is developed and sold, people will just find ways to get around it and beat the system once again, effectively presenting an even greater challenge to those attempting to verify an image's validity.
Lawyers, law enforcement agents, news reporters and others will likely continue to grapple with the new challenges that come with the convenience of improved technology.