In the European Union, whose technological legislation has in the past set the standard around the world for things like the USB-C port on all phones, they have decided to just ban these ‘nudifier’ apps completely.
They have also attempted to simplify the rules around what AI content is and is not illegal, by directing all of the EU’s 27 constituent countries to make it a criminal offence to create sexually explicit deepfake images.
These new laws, coming into effect from December 2 across the European continent, state: “Content becomes illegal when it is used for purposes such as non-consensual pornography, defamation, terrorist content, violations of privacy, financial fraud, breaches of electoral law, racist or xenophobic hate speech, or infringements of intellectual property rights.”
Any companies that do not comply with this directive face a fine of €35 million or 7 percent of total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher, if they help users break these rules.
Similar laws to strictly criminalize the creation of these sexualized deepfakes exist to some extent or another in 46 states, with federal laws requiring platforms to remove deepfake images within 48 hours of being notified.
The act of creating the AI-generated abusive images was somewhat criminalized at a federal level in May last year, with criminal penalties of up to two years in prison for creating a non-consensual image of an adult, and just three years for creating a non-consensual image of a child.
In January, socialite-turned-businesswoman Paris Hilton joined forces with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to bring greater penalties against the companies that allow users to create these sexual deepfakes.
Through their proposed DEFIANCE Act, which has passed the Senate but is being held up in the House, victims of these deepfakes would be able to sue their creators and the company responsible for up to $250,000.
