Sony Electronics and The Associated Press Complete Testing of Advanced In-Camera Authenticity Technology to Address Growing Concerns Around Fake Imagery

Today, Sony Electronics announces the completion of a second round of testing for Sony’s in-camera authenticity technology with Associated Press. This in-camera digital signature allows for the creation of a birth certificate for images, validating the origin of the content.

Sony’s authenticity technology provides a machine-based digital signature, removing the opportunity for undetected manipulation at the start. The digital signature is made inside the camera at the moment of capture in the hardware chipset. This security feature is aimed at professionals wanting to safeguard the authenticity of their content and provides an extra layer of security to aid news agencies in their fight against falsified imagery.

“While the rapid evolution of generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) brings new possibilities for creative expression, it has also led to growing concern about the impact of altered or manipulated imagery in journalism,” says Neal Manowitz, President and COO of Sony Electronics. “The dissemination of false information and images has real world social impact that brings harm not only to our photojournalist and news agency partners, but to society as a whole. We care deeply about this challenge and are committed to using our resources to help solve it. Through Sony’s work on the steering committee for C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity), we have helped set the current industry standard for the tracking of editing and manipulation of imagery. Additionally, our in-camera authenticity technology has shown valuable results, and we will continue to push its development towards a wider release.”

“Fake and manipulated images are a major concern for news organizations. Not only do they contribute to mis- and disinformation but ultimately, they erode the public’s trust in factual, accurate imagery,” said David Ake, AP Director of Photography. “We are proud to be working alongside Sony Electronics to create an authentication solution that can help combat this problem.”

Sony and AP’s most recent field test was completed during October of 2023. In this month-long test, both capture authentication and workflow process were evaluated. To accomplish this, Sony partnered with Camera Bits – the company behind the industry standard workflow tool, Photo Mechanic. Alongside Sony and AP, Camera Bits created technology in Photo Mechanic that preserves the camera’s digital signature all the way through the metadata editing process.

“We appreciate the significant challenge that manipulated imagery poses for our partners, and we are highly motivated to play a role in helping solve it,” says Dennis Walker, President and Founder of Camera Bits. “Photo Mechanic has been used by the photojournalism industry for 25 years and continues to evolve as the industry introduces new technology. We are committed to ensuring Photo Mechanic remains a trusted and authentic workflow solution.”

Sony’s new in-camera signature and C2PA authentication is planned for release in a firmware update in the newly announced Alpha 9 III, Alpha 1, and Alpha 7S III in the Spring of 2024 ⁱ.