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Fake Images, Real Crime: support for dealing with deepfakes

Posted on March 3 2022 at 11:05

The sharing of intimate images or videos (or threats to share them) without consent is a form of online sexual harassment. This is a criminal offence, whether the images are real or digitally altered. This means that the criminal offence can apply to images and videos manipulated using technology, such as photoshop or Artificial Intelligence (AI) used to create ‘deepfakes’.

This blog will set out:

What a “deepfake” is
What the law says
Where you can get support

What are deepfakes?

AI technology can be used to create fake images, videos, or sound recordings that appear realistic. It can also be used to manipulate existing content. Many of the images or videos created using this technology are pornographic in nature and they are almost always of women, and created without their knowledge or consent. The majority of ‘deepfake’ videos online contain the image of a celebrity’s face transposed onto someone else’s naked body.

The technology is advanced enough that ‘deepfakes’ are often very realistic, and it can be difficult to tell that they are fake.

Increasingly, this technology is being used as a form of image-based sexual abuse (sometimes known as ‘revenge porn’). You can find more information about image-based sexual abuse/ ‘revenge porn’ in our blog and in our legal guide.

How common are deepfakes?

According to Sensity, an AI company who works to detect deepfakes, the number of deepfake videos on the internet doubles every six months. This is an increasingly prevalent issue and the number of people affected has been increasing by a third each year since 2019.

What the law says

It is not a criminal offence to share intimate images or videos with another consenting adult (or to share intimate images or videos that are already in the public domain).

It is, however, a crime to show, give, or make available to another person (e.g. upload to a website), an intimate image or video that shows (or appears to show) another person in an intimate situation, without that person's consent – or without the reasonable belief that person gave consent.

This includes images and videos that have been altered, e.g. 'deepfakes' - but it does not include completely computer-generated images (e.g. graphics, cartoons or animations that do not include any existing images).

It is also a crime to threaten to disclose intimate images or videos without the other person’s consent.

The person making the disclosure (or threatening to make a disclosure) must have:

intended to cause fear, alarm, or distress; or
been reckless as to whether they caused fear, alarm or distress (i.e. it was a foreseeable result of their actions).

Even though someone may have previously consented to share an intimate image or video with another person, it is a crime for the other person to share the existing image – or an altered version - more widely without consent (or the reasonable belief that the person who shared the image would have consented).

In the context of image-based sexual abuse/ ‘revenge porn’, deepfakes are often created and shared by partners or ex-partners. However, this crime can also be perpetrated by strangers. If you are thinking of reporting image-based sexual abuse or deepfakes to the police, you can find more information on your rights in our guide on reporting sexual crimes.

How we can help

If you have experienced sexual harassment online, including the sharing of intimate images, our specialist sexual harassment solicitor can provide you with information and advice. You can book a surgery appointment with our sexual harassment solicitor using our online booking system or call our helpline to request an appointment.