The sharing of non-consensual “deepfake” sexually explicit material may soon be illegal in Australia.
It’s a move that has been welcomed by the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), which say the specific laws will strike the right balance between targeting the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) without hindering the development of AI in Australia.
The Criminal Code Amendment (Deepfake Sexual Material) Bill 2024 will impose serious criminal penalties on those who share sexually explicit material without consent.
This includes material that is digitally created using artificial intelligence or other technology.
In a statement, the office of Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said digitally created and altered sexually explicit material that was shared without consent, was a damaging and deeply distressing form of abuse.
His office said such acts were overwhelmingly targeted towards women and girls, “perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes and contributing to gender-based violence.”
AIIA CEO Simon Bush said there needed to be balance with online laws, particularly around AI, so that they were not sweeping.
“The AIIA has always called for a prompt but balanced approach to AI regulation ,” he said in a statement.
“Plugging existing gaps in the legislative framework is the fastest way to start protecting Australians than an all-encompassing and prescriptive act.”
Mr. Bush said he hoped the new law would encourage more trust in AI, rather than suspicion.
“I am concerned by numerous surveys that show Australia is standing out for its fear of AI and slowness on adoption leaving the Australian economy at risk,” he said.
“This is why we are pleased to see the government moving fast to update existing laws and communicating clearly how the Australian citizens will be protected to drive citizen trust in technologies critically important to the nation’s digital economy.”
The bill will strengthen existing Commonwealth Criminal Code offences and introduce a new aggravated criminal offence to target those who use technologies to artificially generate or alter sexually explicit material (such as deepfakes) for the purposes of non-consensual sharing online.
These offences will be subject to serious criminal penalties of up to six years’ imprisonment for sharing of non-consensual deepfake sexually explicit material.
Where the person also created the deepfake that is shared without consent, there is an aggravated offence which carries a higher penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.
