UK Moves To Ban Non-Consensual Deepfake Adult Imagery Online
Illustration 253863125 © Arteindex | Dreamstime.com
In recent years, a new wave of imagery has placed women in uncompromising positions they were never involved in to begin with. Deepfakes superimpose images and audio with the faces and voices of others, and non-consensual pornography is one of its more nefarious applications. With the technology becoming more advanced, making it difficult to differentiate between fact and fantasy, the UK is drafting new laws to prevent the exploitation of more victims.
In a breakthrough announcement, the UK government says it is planning to amend its Online Safety Bill to, for the first time, criminalize the sharing of sexually-explicit content manipulated with subjects who have not consented to their likeness being used.
Under this proposed law, culprits may potentially spend time behind bars for sharing the illicit content.
The bill will put pressure on platforms that have been purveying the AI-doctored footage or images, and force them to finally put some clamps in place, as they too could be punished for distributing the offending content.
The UK government cites that in the first eight months of 2021, one website that uses artificial intelligence to “strip” women naked received 38 million hits. As such, it’s imperative that laws are updated to make this digitally-dominated world a safer place.
“We must do more to protect women and girls from people who take or manipulate intimate photos in order to hound or humiliate them,” explained Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab.
Aside from outlawing non-consensual deepfaked porn, the nation is also looking to enforce stricter regulations on the installation of hidden cameras to capture images of someone without their knowledge; and “downblousing”—with which pictures are taken down a woman’s shirt without her consent.
The proposed legislation follows the UK’s prohibition of upskirting, revenge porn, and “breastfeeding voyeurism.”
All told, it will take some time before the anti-deepfaking laws are set in place, as the proposed amendment will need to be reviewed by Parliament. It is still a step in the right direction, considering the growing complexities of the digital realm.
[via PetaPixel and TechCrunch, cover illustration 253863125 © Arteindex | Dreamstime.com]
