The creation of non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes will be made a criminal offence by the government as it looks to crack down on crime and violence against females.
The Ministry of Justice said that predators who create these images could face up to two years in prison under new offences, after recognising that the creation of these hyper-realistic images has grown at an alarming rate.
The new offence means perpetrators could be charged for both creating and sharing these images, marking a crackdown on this behaviour.
Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones said: 鈥淚t is unacceptable that one in three women have been victims of online abuse.
鈥淭his 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 鈥� whatever form it takes.”
The government said the move delivers on its manifesto commitment to ban the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes as well as recommendations from the Law Commission relating to intimate images.
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Alongside existing offences of sharing intimate images without consent, the government says that this will give law enforcement a holistic package of offences to effectively tackle non-consensual intimate image abuse.
Baroness Jones, Technology Minister, added: 鈥淭he rise of intimate image abuse is a horrifying trend that exploits victims and perpetuates a toxic online culture. These acts are not just cowardly, they are deeply damaging, particularly for women and girls who are disproportionately targeted.
鈥淲ith these new measures, we鈥檙e sending an unequivocal message: creating or sharing these vile images is not only unacceptable but criminal. Tech companies need to step up too – platforms hosting this content will face tougher scrutiny and significant penalties.鈥�
These new offences follow the government鈥檚 action in September 2024 to add sharing intimate image offences as priority offences under the Online Safety Act.聽
The new offences will be included in the Government鈥檚 Crime and Policing Bill, which the government says will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.