Ministers to crack down on deepfakes and sharing of illicit intimate images
7 January 2025, 00:04
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said perpetrators of the new offences would ‘face the full force of the law’.
Ministers are to crack down on sexually explicit deepfake images, as the practice will become a criminal offence.
Those who take intimate images of other people without their consent, or who install equipment to take these pictures, could meanwhile face up to two years behind bars under new offences.
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said perpetrators of the new offences would “face the full force of the law”.
Deepfakes are images generated or edited using artificial intelligence featuring real people.
The number of these false images has spread widely in recent years, and they can often be explicit in nature.
With the new deepfakes offence, the Government will target people who are both creating and sharing these images.
This builds on offences aimed at clamping down on the sharing of intimate images, including deepfakes, introduced in 2023.
Plans to outlaw the taking of intimate images without consent will meanwhile streamline existing laws, which have been described as a “patchwork” by the Law Commission.
Ms Davies-Jones said: “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.
“These new offences will help prevent people being victimised online.
“We are putting offenders on notice – they will face the full force of the law.”
Broadcaster Jess Davies, who has raised awareness about deepfakes, was among the campaigners who welcomed the plans.
She said intimate-image abuse is “a national emergency that is causing significant, long-lasting harm to women and girls who face a total loss of control over their digital footprint, at the hands of online misogyny”.
“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,” Ms Davies added.
The End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) meanwhile urged the Government to set out a timeline for introducing its plans.
Rebecca Hitchen, head of policy and campaigns at EVAW, said: “While we welcome this announcement, we are yet to see a timeline for the offence or any details about the new law, which 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.
“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.”
