'If it was a real image more could've been done': New laws around explicit deepfake pictures

Those taking intimate images of others without consent or installing equipment to take these pictures could face up to two years in prison under new offences, ITV News' Cari Davies reports

Ministers are set to crack down on sexually explicit deepfake images, making the practice a criminal offence.

According to the new legislation, people who take intimate images of others without their consent, or who install equipment to take these pictures, could face up to two years behind bars under new offences.

Former Love Island contestant Cally Jane Beech, who learned one of her photos was edited to look as though she was naked, supports the new rules, saying no action was taken when she reported her case.

"The real stressful part was to find that nothing could really be done because when I did contact the police, they said it was a real grey area," she told ITV News. "They practically said if it was a real image more could've been done."

The original photo had been taken as part of an underwear campaign Cally had done several years previously.

"[The perpetrator] removed the underwear. You can actually see on the nude image where the seams don't quite match up of where I've held my arm up. And I also have a lower tattoo... which only I know but again wasn't on the AI-generated image."

Why is it so tough to regulate deepfakes? Disinformation specialist Marcus Beard tells ITV News how it works

Deepfakes are images generated or edited using artificial intelligence featuring real people.

The number of these false images has spread widely in recent years, and they can often be explicit in nature.

With the new deepfakes offence, the government will target people who are both creating and sharing these images.

This builds on offences aimed at clamping down on the sharing of intimate images, including deepfakes, introduced in 2023.

Plans to outlaw the taking of intimate images without consent will meanwhile streamline existing laws, which have been described as a “patchwork” by the Law Commission.

Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones said perpetrators of the new offences would “face the full force of the law”.

“It is unacceptable that one in three women have been victims of online abuse. This demeaning and disgusting form of chauvinism must not become normalised, and as part of our Plan for Change we are bearing down on violence against women – whatever form it takes.

Broadcaster Jess Davies, who has raised awareness about deepfakes, was also among the campaigners who welcomed the plans.

She said intimate-image abuse is “a national emergency that is causing significant, long-lasting harm to women and girls who face a total loss of control over their digital footprint, at the hands of online misogyny”.

“Women should not have to accept sexual harassment and abuse as a normal part of their online lives, we need urgent action and legislation to better protect women and girls from the mammoth scale of misogyny they are experiencing online,” Davies added.

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