The United Kingdom is taking a step in the fight against the spread of “deepfakes” — creating sexually explicit images using AI will become a criminal offense. Last year, the UK already introduced a law prohibiting the distribution of such materials, but now responsibility will also fall on those who create them.
The new government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has decided to continue the fight against deepfakes started by its predecessors. Interestingly, this decision became relevant after Starmer himself became the victim of a deepfake video in which his image promoted some investment scheme.
According to government plans, special attention will be paid to sexually explicit content, which, according to Parliamentary Under-Secretary Alex Davies-Jones, disproportionately affects women. He emphasized that “this is a degrading and disgusting form of chauvinism” and that the government intends to fight violence against women in any form.
In addition, the government plans to expand legislation regarding the filming of intimate images without consent, which is currently limited to specific cases such as upskirting . For example, installing hidden cameras to record intimate images could result in up to two years in prison. These changes are planned to be included in a future Crime and Policing Bill, which will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.
