Deepfake AI porn ban: people who create sexually explicit ‘deepfakes’ could face jail under new law

Britons who create sexually explicit deepfake images and videos could face prison time under a new law announced by the government.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has allowed perverts to make imitation porn using real people’s likenesses. A Channel 4 investigation found hundreds of actors, TV stars and musicians have become the victim of this, known as deepfakes. 

The government says it will make creating a sexually explicit deepfake without permission a stand-alone offence. Those who generate these images will face a criminal record and an unlimited fine, and if the AI content is shared more widely offenders could be sent to prison.

Last year, under the Online Safety Act, sharing explicit deepfakes was made illegal. Now the new law will mean that if someone creates a deepfake porn, even if they have no intent to share it but purely want to cause humiliation or distress to the victim, they will be committing a criminal offence. 

Announcing the new offence, Minister for Victims and Safeguarding, Laura Farris, said: “The creation of deepfake sexual images is despicable and completely unacceptable irrespective of whether the image is shared.

“It is another example of ways in which certain people seek to degrade and dehumanise others - especially women. And it has the capacity to cause catastrophic consequences if the material is shared more widely. This government will not tolerate it. This new offence sends a crystal clear message that making this material is immoral, often misogynistic, and a crime.”

Earlier this year, former Love Island contestant Cally Jane Beech found out there were sexually explicit deepfakes of her circulating on the internet. She told a Parliamentary roundtable organised by Glamour magazine: “My privacy, dignity, and identity were compromised by the malicious use of artificial intelligence. I became a victim of AI deep fakes. A mere photograph, innocently taken, had been distorted.

“My underwear was stripped away, and a nude body was imposed in its place and uploaded onto the internet without my consent. The likeness of this image was so realistic that anyone with fresh eyes would assume this AI generated image was real when it wasn’t, nevertheless I still felt extremely violated.”

Today (16 April), Cally said: “This new offence is a huge step in further strengthening of the laws around deepfakes to better protect women. 

“What I endured went beyond embarrassment or inconvenience. Too many women continue to have their privacy, dignity, and identity compromised by malicious individuals in this way and it has to stop. People who do this need to be held accountable.”

Deborah Joseph, European editorial director of Glamour, added: “In a recent Glamour survey we found 91% of our readers believe deepfake technology poses a threat to the safety of women, and from hearing personal stories from victims, we also know how serious the impact can be. While this is an important first step, there is still a long way to go before women will truly feel safe from this horrendous activity.”

The new offence will be brought in as part of an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill. It will make it a crime to “intentionally take or record an intimate image or film without consent or a reasonable belief in consent” and to “take or record an intimate image or film without consent and with intent to cause alarm, distress or humiliation; or for the purpose of sexual gratification”.

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.