Campaign win: law to stop deepfake abuse

The government has today (Tuesday, 7th January 2025) announced plans to make creating sexually explicit deepfake imagery a criminal offence, alongside new offences for the taking of intimate images without consent and the installation of equipment with intent to commit these offences.

Along with survivor campaign group #NotYourPorn, survivor-campaigner Jodie*, leading expert Professor Clare McGlynn and GLAMOUR UK, the End Violence Against Women Coalition has long called for the government to introduce a new offence for creating non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes as part of a comprehensive image-based abuse law, with nearly 70k people supporting our campaign.

Rebecca Hitchen, Head of Policy & Campaigns at the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said:

“While we welcome this announcement we are yet to see a timeline for the offence or any details about the new law, which will be crucial to how effective it is. The government must make good on its commitments to survivors – delaying action will only put women and girls in harm’s way.

We await confirmation that any new law criminalising the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes will be based on consent rather than the perpetrator’s intent, cover solicitation of image creation (as well as the creation itself), and be listed as a priority offence in the Online Safety Act.”

We need an image-based abuse law focused on preventing harm

In addition to strengthening criminal laws about creating, taking and sharing intimate images without consent (including sexually explicit deepfakes), our campaign group is calling for the government to take holistic action to prevent abuse in the first place:

• Improve civil laws for survivors to take action against perpetrators and tech companies (including orders to take down abusive content)
• Prevent image-based abuse through comprehensive relationships, sex and health education that reflects the realities of young people’s lives
• Fund the specialist services that provide vital, life-saving support to victims and survivors of image-based abuse
• Create an online abuse commission to champion victims’ rights and hold tech companies accountable for image-based abuse

ENDS 

Notes to editor

• Spokespeople are available for comment and interview
• More detail about what we are calling for to tackle deepfake abuse and other forms of image-based abuse here
• Sign our petition here

Media contact

Sinead Geoghegan, Head of Communications, media@evaw.org.uk 07960 744 502