The UK is to become the first in the Western World (outside of SE Asia) to criminalize the creation of deepfake porn itself. According to the BBC, the ‘Ministry of Justice’ has stated that the creation of any sexually explicit AI-generated images of an adult without their consent (minors are already covered by virtual CP laws), regardless of whether the images were shared or not, is to be a criminal offense with the punishment being an unlimited fine. It is unclear whether those convicted of the crime will be placed on the sex offenders registry, but they will have a criminal record.
Minister for Victims and Safeguarding Laura Farris said the new law would send a “crystal clear message that making this material is immoral, often misogynistic, and a crime”.
“The creation of deepfake sexual images is despicable and completely unacceptable irrespective of whether the image is shared,” she said.
“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.”
It was known that the sharing of non-consensual deepfake porn was to be made illegal in the UK under the forthcoming Criminal Justice Bill, but making the creation itself of non-consensual deepfake porn a criminal offence may surprise many. Most Western countries, save for (I believe) South Korea, have adopted the legislative approach of only making the sharing illegal. In the USA, many states are passing bills that criminalize the non-consensual sharing of deepfake porn, and the AOC sponsored DEFIANCE Act will create a federal civil redress for victims of deepfake porn to sue those who created or shared it.
However, any pornography which is deemed illegal in the UK, is generally illegal even to own or view. Whilst this is the case for material involving minors in most countries, in the UK the viewing of bestiality, or of ‘roleplay rape’ videos, even where the participants are clearly acting, is illegal too, and usually results in a spell in prison and a place on the sex offenders register. From the wording of the Ministry of Justice, it appears that the creation of deepfake porn in the UK will not result in a custodial sentence, although if this is the case it is likely only because prisons are now almost at full capacity in the UK, with two thirds of prisons in the country officially overcrowded.
Personally, this decision by the UK government does not come as a surprise. To be fair, although this draconian anti-deepfake porn law comes largely as a result of the UK now being probably the most radical feminist culture in the Western World, it is also because the UK government has done its homework, and can see what is down the road with regards to such tech (perhaps they are readers of Immersive Porn, lol). As I predicted in my article on OpenAI’s Sora, and the coming AI porn video generators, governments are going to strictly regulate this, if they allow it at all. And it’s unlikely that they will settle for making simply the sharing of prohibited material illegal. Not when it will soon be possible for anyone at home to conjure up any individual fantasy in hyperrealistic quality, in virtual or augmented reality, and in full interaction with AI characters. Perhaps when Elon Musk style computer brain interfaces are common, and ‘thought crime’ becomes a literal thing, society will need to re-think its whole attitude towards sex, nudity, fantasy, etc. Or perhaps it will choose to simply do away with the male gender, or at least the male sexual urge.
*UPDATE – According to the current wording of the law, it appears that British men will only face conviction for creating deepfake porn if it can be proven that the creater had malicious intent. However, campaigners are already screaming for this ‘loophole to be closed, and we can be fairly sure that it will be. In fact the government minister responsible for the new law had this to say in response to fears of such a ‘loophole’ :
She said: “The first thing is, if you use an app to create one of these images you will be in the scope of the offence.
“You will be committing a crime, there is no doubt about that.”
The Ministry of Justice stressed anyone who creates X-rated images will feel the full force of the law.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/tech/11120425/world-of-deepfake-porn-plaguing-women/
Featured image generated with PornJoy.ai
Related posts:
South Africa Will Make Deepfake Porn Illegal
Why Has It Taken A Few Deepfake AI Pics Of Taylor Swift For All Hell To Break Loose?
Younger Men More Likely To Oppose Anti-Deepfake Porn DEFIANCE Act
Does Deepfake Porn Require New Laws? An Associate Professor Of Criminology Says No
South Korea Makes Deepfake Porn A Sex Crime
