Source: Ministry of Justice published on this website Tuesday 7 January 2025 by Jill Powell
Predators who create sexually explicit ‘deepfakes’ could face prosecution as the Government bears down on vile online abuse as part of its mission to make our streets safer.
The proliferation of these hyper-realistic images has grown at an alarming rate, causing devastating harm to victims, particularly women and girls who are often the target.
To tackle this, the government will introduce a new offence meaning perpetrators could be charged for both creating and sharing these images, not only marking a crackdown on this abhorrent behaviour but making it clear there is no excuse for creating a sexually explicit deepfake of someone without their consent.
The Government will also create new offences for the taking of intimate images without consent and the installation of equipment with intent to commit these offences – sending a clear message that abusers will face the full force of the law.
These new offences follow the Government’s action in September 2024 to add sharing intimate images This put the onus on platforms to root out and remove th.is type of content - or face enforcement action from Ofcom.
The new offences will be included in the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill, which will be introduced when parliamentary time allows. Further details of the new offences will be set out in due course.
