ACT seeks to ban sexually explicit deepfakes in private member’s bill

ACT MP Laura McClure has introduced a private member’s bill to outlaw the creation and distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes, when a person’s likeness is used to generate online content without their permission.

“No-one should have to worry about their digital images being misappropriated and sexualised. This new form of bullying, shaming, and harassment can lead to profound psychological, reputational and emotional harm,” she said.

McClure’s bill amends the Crimes Act 1961 and the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 to expand the definition of ‘intimate visual recording’ to explicitly include images or videos that are created, synthesised, or altered to depict a person’s likeness in intimate contexts without their consent.

A draft of the Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill can be read here.