Creating Sexually Explicit Deepfakes to Be Criminalized in the UK
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The UK’s Online Safety Act, which received royal assent and became law in late October 2023 set the stage for how tech firms will handle a wide array of potentially harmful online content— including access to online pornography by underage people, distribution of child sexual abuse material and terrorism-related content, and more. Tech companies could face fines of up to £18 million (around $22 million), and leadership could even face prison time.
The act already criminalized the distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes. Last week, the Ministry of Justice announced legislation that would expand the existing law to include the creation of sexual deepfake images — regardless of intent to share those images or not.
“The creation of deepfake sexual images is despicable and completely unacceptable irrespective of whether the image is shared. This new offence sends a crystal clear message that making this material is immoral, often misogynistic, and a crime,” Minister for Victims and Safeguarding, Laura Farris said in a statement.
Deborah Joseph, editor-in-chief of Glamour UK told the Guardian, “In a recent Glamour survey, we found 91% of our readers believe deepfake technology poses a threat to the safety of women, and from hearing personal stories from victims, we also know how serious the impact can be,” she said. “While this is an important first step, there is still a long way to go before women will truly feel safe from this horrendous activity.”
The Online Safety Bill has not been without controversy, leaders at the Wikimedia Foundation, Meta’s WhatsApp and Signal have expressed concerns with the law, saying that it hinders these companies' abilities to protect users’ privacy by providing end-to-end encryption.
Across the UK, legislature is attempting to quickly adapt to the rise of AI to create explicit deepfakes. Last week, a person convicted of creating explicit imagery of children using AI software Stable Diffusion has been banned from using any “AI creating tools” for five years, according to a report from the Guardian, “in the first known case of its kind.”
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
