Girlguiding welcomes criminalisation of explicit deepfakes

Felicity Oswald OBE, CEO Girlguiding said: “Girlguiding strongly welcomes the criminalisation of creating non-consensual deepfake pornography as a crucial step towards protecting girls and women from one of the fastest growing forms of online abuse. Our own research found more than a quarter of teenagers (aged 13-18) have seen a sexualised deepfake of a celebrity, friend, teacher or themselves.

“This incredibly dangerous misuse of AI disproportionately harms girls and women and by making the creation of non-consensual indecent imagery illegal, in addition to sharing content, it sends a clear message to perpetrators that this is not something that will be tolerated.

“For too long, girls have been left to shoulder the fear, shame and lasting trauma that deepfake content can inflict. This change in the law recognises their dignity and their right to be safe online.

“At Girlguiding we provide girls with the opportunity to learn about AI and its benefits to society, however there is a responsibility on technology companies to do better to ensure technology is safe by design, and to support educators and parents to ensure young people are safe.”