New Zealand’s first criminal sentencing for sexually explicit deepfakes has underscored an urgent gap in the law. The Law Association’s Technology and Law Committee has made submissions on the Deepfake Digital Harm and Exploitation Bill, supporting the legislation in principle while recommending a series of targeted improvements.
The bill extends existing intimate image laws to cover synthetic content, including AI-generated depictions that map a person’s likeness onto a fabricated body. Current law was written for real recordings of real people. The committee’s submission identifies where the bill closes that gap well, and where it falls short.
The submission welcomes the bill’s decision to criminalise the creation of a deepfake, not just its distribution. Knowing an intimate image of yourself exists, even if it has never been shared, can cause serious harm. The submission argues that criminalising creation is a proportionate and necessary response.
However, the committee raises four key concerns.
First, the bill lacks a clear standard for when a synthetic image is realistic enough to be covered. Without an objective test, there is uncertainty for victims, defendants and enforcement agencies alike. The submission recommends a “reasonable person” threshold.
Second, a drafting gap means a synthetic image created with someone’s consent but later posted without it would fall outside the Harmful Digital Communications Act offence. An equivalent real recording posted in the same circumstances would be caught. The committee recommends fixing this inconsistency.
Third, the bill says nothing about so-called “nudify” applications, the commercial tools that make producing non-consensual intimate imagery straightforward and cheap. These platforms operate behind paywalls, are financially motivated to continue, and are not clearly covered by existing law. The submission calls for urgent, separate work on supply-side regulation. The United Kingdom and Australia are already moving in this direction.
Fourth, the committee notes that most victims, particularly young people in schools, never engage with any formal process. The bill may deter deliberate bad actors. It does not address the structural conditions that allow harm to spread largely undetected.
The full submission is available here – 20260619-Submissions-by-TLANZ-Technology-and-Law-Committee-on-the-Deepfake-Digital-Harm-and-Exploitation-Bill
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