The UK is moving forward with plans to make the creation of sexually explicit “deepfake” images a specific crime.
Deepfakes refer to manipulated media (often video or audio) created using AI to make it appear as if someone is saying or doing something they did not actually do.
Britain already criminalized the sharing and threat of sharing sexually explicit deepfake content under its Online Safety Act, which came into force last year. However, content creation itself is not covered. That's why the Ministry of Justice today announced plans to make existing rules more comprehensive, including those who make them, regardless of what role they play in subsequent sharing.
Britain's previous Conservative government detailed similar plans, but with a new government in place in July, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to fight deepfakes more thoroughly in his election manifesto. It was unclear what direction the party would take. Starmer himself was actually the subject of deepfake video vilification, with his AI-like appearance seen promoting investment plans.
The United States has no specific law against deepfakes, but several states, including California, where Elon Musk's Mr. We are promoting its enactment.
online abuse
Technology has made it easy for ordinary people to create deepfake images and sounds for any purpose, including fraud through identity fraud. However, with today's announcement, the UK government is focusing specifically on sexually explicit content, saying it disproportionately affects women.
“It is unacceptable that one in three women are victims of online abuse,” Parliamentary Secretary Alex Davis-Jones said in a statement. “We must not allow this humiliating and disgusting xenophobia to become the norm. As part of our plan for change, we are cracking down on violence against women in all its forms.”
The government has also announced plans to expand the scope of current laws on non-consensual intimate images, which are currently limited to very specific circumstances such as upskirting. For example, a person who installs hidden cameras or other devices for the purpose of capturing intimate images can be sentenced to up to two years in prison. (Upskirting is the act of viewing someone's underwear or genitals/buttocks without their knowledge or consent, for the purpose of sexual gratification or to cause humiliation, pain, or anxiety.) ).
Specific timescales for these various changes are not detailed. However, the Government said they would be included as part of the next Crime and Policing Bill, which is expected to be tabled “as Parliament's time permits”.