Survivors ‘let down’ by Government as it rejects proposals to ban deepfake abuse

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Survivors will feel “let down” by the Government’s rejection of proposals to crack down on deepfake abuse, Parliament has heard.

Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge said she was “devastated” that ministers were not backing her proposed legislation banning the creation and solicitation of intimate images of people without their consent.

The Conservative peer has tabled a proposed law in response to concerns over how technology is aiding the abuse of women, with so-called nudify apps allowing users to create fake nude images or videos of other people through generative artificial intelligence.

While the Government has not backed her private members’ bill, it has promised to bring forward its own legislation tackling this issue next year.

Lady Owen said: “I am actually devastated with the Government’s refusal to back this Bill and I know that survivors will feel let down.

“I will continue to fight using every legislative vehicle available to me because we cannot afford any more delays in getting these protections enshrined in law.”

Lady Owen’s Non-Consensual Sexually Explicit Images and Videos (Offences) Bill, which would apply to England and Wales, aims to create new offences, with those found guilty facing a fine, up to six months in prison or both.

The courts would also be able to order the deletion and destruction of physical and digital images.

While the Online Safety Act 2023 made it illegal to share or threaten to share intimate images – including deepfakes – of people without their consent, it did not outlaw the creation of such images.

Labour’s general election manifesto stated the party would ban the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes, and the Government has re-iterated its promise to do this through its own legislation.

Justice minister Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede said: “Of course I share – and the Government shares – your concern that more needs to be done to protect women from this form of abuse….

“I know there will be frustration across the House about the Government pursuing its own legislation within this session.

“But I hope that you will understand that we want to make it sustainable; we want the legislation to be solid legislation and future-proof as far as is possible.”

He told peers that the Government is determined to “act carefully so that any new measures work with existing law and, most importantly, protect victims and bring offenders to justice”.

Introducing the Bill, Lady Owen told the House of Lords: “I believe in a woman’s right to choose. The right for her to choose what she does with her own body. The right for her to choose who owns her naked image.

“With the dawn of AI technology, women have lost this ability. A woman can no longer choose who owns an intimate image of her.

“Technology has made it possible for them to be created by anyone, anywhere, at anytime, regardless of whether she consents.

“This Bill will return power to where it belongs – the hands of each individual woman.”

Lady Owen added: “Deepfake abuse is the new frontier of violence against women and the non-consensual creation of a woman’s naked image is an act of abuse.”

The peer said research had found that one app processed 600,000 images in its first three weeks – while the largest site “dedicated to deepfake abuse” has 13.4 million hits every month.

She added: “It’s a disproportionately sexist form of abuse with 99% of all sexually explicit deepfakes being of women.

“Women are sick and tired of their images being used without their consent to misrepresent, degrade and humiliate them.”

Peers heard how survivors experience “untold trauma, anxiety and distress” as a result of deepfakes, with Lady Owen adding: “All women are forced to live under the ever-present threat that anyone can own sexually explicit content of them.

“The current law is a patchwork of legislation that cannot keep pace and means we’re forever playing catch-up whilst the abuse of women races ahead in a technological revolution of degradation.”

Lady Owen said the measures in her Bill, if approved by Parliament, would be implemented as soon as it received royal assent.

The former Downing Street special adviser added: “The victims of intimate image abuse have waited long enough.

“Given the rapid proliferation of this abuse, every day that we delay is another day when women have to live under this ever-present threat.”

Lady Owen said she had met ministers to discuss her Bill, adding: “I’m disappointed by their response suggesting they will not support this vital Bill and their apparent willingness to delay on legislating on image-based abuse.”

Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Grender said the Bill is “essential”, adding: “Women can’t suffer delay on this issue.”

The Bill was given a second reading and will undergo further scrutiny at a later date, although it is unlikely to become law in its current form without Government support.