Adobe Stock updates to combat deceptive content and misuse

Over the past year, generative AI has completely transformed the way we work, create, and communicate. For many people, AI has gone from a futuristic-sounding concept to a very real and easy-to-use technology, enabling them to channel their creativity in ways never dreamed possible. And for professional creators, it has provided an opportunity to design entirely new experiences bounded only by their imagination, while being more productive than ever before. This includes our Adobe Stock community, who contribute to a vibrant marketplace of over 370 million creative assets.

Stock content represents creative illustrations, photos, designs, videos and more that can be licensed for commercial use. Stock images are used on company websites and in advertisements you see on billboards. They might be the photo of the smiling couple that comes in the picture frame you just bought or the images of cute puppies in the dog calendar hanging on your fridge; the illustrative images that bring a company’s pitch deck to life or the drawings you use as the background of your birthday invitations. As the demand for content increases, Stock contributors have had to race to fill a growing appetite for these types of assets, and for many, generative AI has proven a key unlock. Our Stock contributors have found generative AI to be a very successful tool for engaging in the Stock marketplace.

But I want to be clear: Adobe Stock content is not real-world journalistic content and should never be used in journalistic mediums to depict newsworthy events.

While all digital content can be altered to deceive people, generative AI has the potential to make it easier for bad actors to create images that mislead. That’s what prompted us to thoughtfully consider our approach to allowing generative AI content on Adobe Stock, including requiring that contributors label any generative AI content they submit as such so customers can view and filter out generative AI content. It's also why Adobe has taken proactive steps to help restore trust in digital content through the Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), which allows creators to attach important information to an image like where it came from and how it was created, so people can make a more informed decision about whether to trust it.

Whether generative AI or not, we know the same stock image that can be used appropriately, such as on the cover of a book or in a video game, can also be misused to mislead people. When taken out of context, digital content has the potential to be used for harm; this is an unfortunate reality we are seeing play out in ongoing conflicts around the world.

Recently, some members of our community have shared concern over generative AI war-like images being used on social media to misleadingly describe the Israel-Hamas war. It is disappointing to see people misrepresenting and misusing images, including Adobe Stock content, in this way, especially around a situation that is already causing so much grief, devastation, and destruction.

We always strive to have an open dialogue with our community and are grateful for the important perspective they’ve provided on this issue. As the generative AI space quickly evolves, we know we must continually review our approach to best support our community and adjust our policies and guidelines when necessary. As such we are taking the following actions:

• Updating our submission policies to prohibit contributors from submitting generative AI content with titles that imply that it is depicting an actual newsworthy event. If a contributor mistitles generative AI content, we will review and take appropriate action, including removing the content or terminating the contributor account.

• Updating our usage policies to make it clear that editorial uses of Adobe Stock content cannot be used to mislead or deceive and that doing so is a violation of our terms of service. Stock content should always be clearly marked when used in editorial content to help ensure people are not misled into thinking a real event is being depicted by the stock content. If a publisher or other licensee is using a clearly-labeled Stock asset in misleading ways to deceive people, we will review and take appropriate action including terminating their rights to that Stock asset.

• More clearly labeling images created with generative technology. Today, Adobe does identify generative AI images, but we are committed to making it easier for people to identify which images are generative AI before licensing them on Adobe Stock. This provides important transparency that can help prevent Stock content from being used to mislead.

• Indicating in a Stock image’s Content Credentials when generative AI was used. Leveraging the work of the CAI, we plan to attach Content Credentials to any generative AI asset downloaded from Adobe Stock that includes new information that informs users that generative AI was used in their creation. Content Credentials are like a digital nutrition label that can show information such as the creator’s name and what tools were used to create the content, including if an AI tool was used.

While we cannot control the images people make and how they are used, we believe these actions will both provide greater transparency to licensees of Adobe Stock content and help prevent people from purposefully misusing Stock content to deceive people. As we design our policies around generative AI, Adobe is committed to ensuring we are respecting the rights of our contributors and providing transparency to the public.

With AI, we know that this is a rapidly evolving space that creates new circumstances and implications for everyone, and we are committed to continuing the conversation with our community as we work to create a more trustworthy digital space for all.

For feedback and questions, please reach out to the Adobe Stock team at adobestock@adobe.com.