Creators of Sexually Explicit ‘Deepfake’ Images Face up to 2 Years in Jail

An Honor TV claims to have on-device AI deepfake detection technology at the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin international trade fair in Berlin, on Sept. 6, 2024. Adam Berry/Getty Images

Creators and distributors of sexually explicit “deepfake” images could face up to two years behind bars under government plans.

A broad package of measures, announced by the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday, includes new offences for taking an intimate image without consent and installing equipment to enable these offences.

“Deepfakes” are explicit images or videos that have been manipulated to look like someone without their consent.

The proliferation of these hyper-realistic images has grown at an alarming rate, the government warned. The impact on victims, particularly women and girls who are often the target, is “devastating,” it said in a statement.

In 2023, the Revenge Porn Helpline reported nearly 19,000 cases of abuse, a staggering increase from just 1,600 cases in 2019. Meanwhile, deepfake-related abuse has surged by 400 percent since 2017, with over 99 percent targeting women and girls.

Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones said the new legislation will help prevent people being victimised online.

“It is unacceptable that one in three women have been victims of online abuse. This demeaning and disgusting form of chauvinism must not become normalised, and as part of our Plan for Change we are bearing down on violence against women – whatever form it takes,” she said.

Under the proposed legislation, anyone who creates a sexually explicit deepfake without consent will face up to two years in jail. The government will also criminalise those who install or adapt, prepare, or maintain equipment with the intent of taking an intimate image without consent.

Campaigner and presenter Jess Davies has described intimate-image abuse as a “national emergency.”

“Women should not have to accept sexual harassment and abuse as a normal part of their online lives, we need urgent action and legislation to better protect women and girls from the mammoth scale of misogyny they are experiencing online,” she said.

Meanwhile, technology minister Baroness Jones urged tech companies to “step up” and warned that platforms hosting illegal content will face tougher scrutiny and significant penalties under new laws.

‘Deepfake’ Use

Sharing or a threat to share an intimate image without consent is illegal in the UK under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, following amendments that were made in the Online Safety Act 2023.

The law applies only in certain circumstances, such as upskirting, while new proposals will widen the scope to include any non-consensual intimate image abuse.

The new offences will include recording an intimate photograph or film without consent, with intent to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation, as well as for the purpose of the sexual gratification.

In January, the U.S. pop star Taylor Swift was the victim of deepfake pornography when bogus images of her went viral online. The social media platform X temporarily removed the ability to search for “Taylor Swift” in response to the incident.

It was reported recently that technology is being created that would allow so-called camgirls to interact with paying customers while their faces are replaced by those of a celebrity.

In October, Hugh Nelson, who used AI technology to alter photographs of real children to create sexual abuse images, was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Raising the issue in the House of Common in November, MP for Bolton North East Kirith Entwistle suggested that Nelson’s sentencing “is something of an exception.”

She warned that too many perpetrators remain beyond the reach of justice because they are “shielded by gaps in our legal framework.”

Timeline for Legislation

The new offences will be part of the government’s Crime and Policing Bill, set to be introduced by Labour. The government said it will share further details on its proposals “in due course.”

Responding to the announcement, the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) said the timeline and details about the new law “will be crucial to how effective it is.”

“The government must make good on its commitments to survivors – delaying action will only put women and girls in harm’s way,” said Rebecca Hitchen, head of policy and campaigns at the EVAW.

“We await confirmation that any new law criminalising the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes will be based on consent rather than the perpetrator’s intent, cover solicitation of image creation (as well as the creation itself), and be listed as a priority offence in the Online Safety Act,” she said in a statement.

Chris Summers contributed to this report.