Sharing ‘deepfake’ pornography should be criminalised, UK review finds
- Although Britain made revenge porn a crime in 2015, the law has not kept up with new forms of abuse such as editing a person’s headshot onto a nude
- The Law Commission recommended four new offences to criminalise all cases where an intimate image is taken or shared without consent
Sharing digitally altered “deepfake” pornographic images should be made a crime, a British government-backed review said on Friday after finding victims were being denied justice because the law has not kept up with new, hi-tech forms of abuse.
Publishing intimate photos or videos without consent and with the intent to cause distress – so-called revenge porn – was criminalised in Britain in 2015, but the review identified gaps in the legislation including the issue of fake images.
Such pictures could include editing a headshot of a victim onto a nude or using sophisticated “deepfake” programmes to digitally strip women.
Reforms are also needed to fill in gaps on taking and sharing intimate images with permission, and “sextortion” threats to share them, said the Law Commission, an independent body that recommends reforms to laws in England and Wales.
“For victims, having their intimate images taken or shared without consent can be an incredibly damaging and humiliating experience,” said Professor Penney Lewis, criminal law commissioner at the Law Commission. “Our proposals would reform the existing law and ensure that victims are given the protection they need.”
Most victims of image-based abuse and revenge porn are women, who are often targeted by acquaintances or former partners.