‘Has to stop': NSW opposition's plan to criminalise AI deepfakes
The Bill, which is yet to be introduced to parliament, would create new criminal offences in NSW for producing and/or distributing sexually explicit deepfakes.
It would also cover threats to share deepfakes without consent, including privately, and empower courts to order the removal of 'synthetic abuse' material.
Opposition leader Mark Speakman said women and girls in NSW had been left exposed by a failure by the Labor government to keep pace with new technology.
'This is a form of abuse, plain and simple. Women and girls are being targeted, violated, and humiliated by code,' Mr Speakman said.
'The emotional toll is devastating. Victims are often left without recourse, knowing these fake images can live on the internet forever.'
Shadow attorney-general Alister Henskins said the law 'must modernise' to recognise digitally faked images, audio, and video were a 'crime'.
'If it's not your body or voice, it's not your right to control another person's autonomy. That principle must be written into NSW law,' Mr Henskins said.
In 2023, sexually explicit deepfake videos accounted for 98 per cent of the 95,820 deepfake videos that were online – most of them depicting women.
An April report by the NSW Parliamentary Research Service found that intimate image offences were 'not designed with deepfakes in mind'.
The report found the existing offences had become outdated in a 'relatively short period of time' due to the rapid advancement of technology.
Recent Commonwealth offences, also applicable in NSW, were also found to be unable to 'do all the work' when it came to deepfakes.
It comes more than three years after the death of 15-year-old Matilda 'Tilly' Rosewarne, who took her own life after bullying that included a fake nude image.
Her mother, Emma Mason, attended the NSW and South Australian governments' joint summits earlier this year into the effects of social media on youths.
The national eSafety Commission found last year that there had been a 550 per cent increase in explicit deepfakes year on year since 2019, many made with AI.
NSW opposition spokeswoman for women Felicity Wilson said the impact of AI deepfakes was being felt by women 'every single day, across the state'.
'It's happening in our schools, where teachers and students are being targeted,' she said.
'It's happening in our sporting fields, where our women athletes are being targeted, in our workplaces, and in people's homes, where it's being used for control and oppressing women in relationships.'
Ms Wilson said women were 'crying out' for better action and called on men to support the legislation.
'We know that AI can be an incredibly powerful tool for good, but when it's used to abuse and degrade and humiliate women, that is something that's no longer innovation,' she said.
'It's abuse, and we're going to make a difference by passing this legislation through this parliament.'
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