WARNING: Creating 'deepfake' to land you in jail; know how UK is cracking down on sexually morphed pics

Creating sexually explicit “deepfake” images in the UK can land a person in jail as the country’s Justice Ministry is mulling a new law that will make such activities a criminal offence.

Britain is one of the world’s worst-affected countries when it comes to morphed images of its citizens, with over 4,000 celebrities falling victim to deepfake pornography.

What will the legislation be like? 

In what seems to be a major crackdown on deepfake menace, the UK government will penalise people who are found to create such images without consent. Perpetrators will be facing a criminal record against their names and will be slapped with unlimited fines.

People could also be imprisoned if the deepfake images created by them are spread widely.

The new law will also be applied to anyone who makes sexually explicit images even if they have no intent to share it but to humiliate or distress their victims.

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Additionally, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) could charge one person twice for creating deepfake images and then sharing them, which will effectively increase their sentences.

‘Making deepfake is immoral, often misogynistic’ 

Laura Farris, the minister for victims and safeguarding, says that the new legislation will put a check on the production of such images as the creation of sexually explicit pictures is “unacceptable irrespective of whether the image is shared.”

“It is another example of ways in which certain people seek to degrade and dehumanise others – especially women. And it has the capacity to cause catastrophic consequences if the material is shared more widely. This government will not tolerate it," she said.

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The minister added, “This new offence sends a crystal clear message that making this material is immoral, often misogynistic, and a crime.”

EU proposes law to criminalise deepfake pornography

Earlier this year, the European Union proposed a new law to criminalise the sharing of sexually explicit images created using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to prevent the rise of sexual exploitation of women online.

“The latest disgusting way of humiliating women is by sharing intimate images generated by AI in a couple of minutes by anybody. Such pictures can do huge harm, not only to pop stars but to every woman who would have to prove at work or at home that it was a deep fake,” European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová had told Politico.