Speaking with GLAMOUR, Minister Alex Davies-Jones said the government is “still working out all the details” on whether or not the new deepfake offence will be entirely consent-based.
On the topic of solicitation – when an offender asks or pays someone else to create deepfake images of the victim – the Minister said that solicitation is “already illegal” for these offences, so “there’s no need for us to create legislation replicate what is already in existence”.
Professor Clare McGlynn, an internationally recognised expert on tech-facilitated abuse, notes, “It’s extremely disappointing that the proposed changes do not cover asking someone to make a sexually explicit deepfake – sometimes known as solicitation – of you. While some of these cases might be covered by the existing law, not all of them are particularly where the other person is abroad.
“And the law is very complicated. It would be much better to have a straightforward and comprehensive law that stopped anyone asking another person to make sexually explicit deepfakes.”
Rebecca Hitchen, Head of Policy & Campaigns at the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), echoed these concerns, saying:
“While we welcome this announcement we are yet to see a timeline for the offence or any details about the new law, which will be crucial to how effective it is. The government must make good on its commitments to survivors – delaying action will only put women and girls in harm’s way.
“We await confirmation that any new law criminalising the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes will be based on consent rather than the perpetrator’s intent, cover solicitation of image creation (as well as the creation itself), and be listed as a priority offence in the Online Safety Act.”
Elena Michael, co-founder of NotYourPorn, tells GLAMOUR, “Although we don’t have the full details yet, many of the politicians behind this announcement have spent 14 years in opposition working on these issues.
“The previous government was on the cusp of introducing legislation so to survivors and experts who have been here for much longer, it feels disingenuous that the government, now in power, needs more time to implement a comprehensive law because all of that learning has happened several times over, including during the debates around the Online Safety Act.
“Let’s put survivors first and cut to the heart of the issue – we need a comprehensive law and we do know what needs to be done: implement a dedicated Image Based Abuse Law. No more wasting time, survivors and potential future survivors are the ones who suffer.”
As well as campaigning for stronger laws around deepfake technology, we’re calling for a dedicated Image-Based Abuse Law that incorporates the following elements:
- Improve civil laws for survivors to take action against perpetrators and tech companies (including orders to take down abusive content).
- Prevent image-based abuse through comprehensive relationships, sex and health education that reflects the realities of young people’s lives.
- Fund the specialist services that provide vital, life-saving support to victims and survivors of image-based abuse.
- Create an online abuse commission to champion victims’ rights and hold tech companies accountable for image-based abuse.
When asked if the government would commit to introducing an IBA law, Minister Alex Davies-Jones said, “We are committed to making these new offences for really tackling the issue of intimate image abuse. That’s why this announcement that we’ve brought forward is so significant. We’re going further than we committed in our manifesto.”
She continued, “We see this as a priority. We want to keep women and girls safe wherever they are, school, the workplace, online and offline. And this is signaling our specific intent to do that. We will be legislating for that.”
GLAMOUR is campaigning for the government to introduce an Image-Based Abuse Bill in partnership with Jodie Campaigns, the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Not Your Porn, and Professor Clare McGlynn.
*Names and some details have been changed to protect victims and survivors’ identities and safety.
Revenge Porn Helpline provides advice, guidance and support to victims of intimate image-based abuse over the age of 18 who live in the UK. You can call them on 0345 6000 459.
For more from Glamour UK’s Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.