The Minns Labor Government is strengthening protections against image-based abuse by outlawing the creation and distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes.
Legislation will be introduced on Thursday to expand existing offences related to the production and distribution of intimate images without consent to cover those created entirely using artificial intelligence.
It is already a crime in NSW to record or distribute intimate images of a person without their consent or to threaten to do so. This includes intimate images that have been digitally altered.
The Crimes Act 1900 will be amended to make the production of a sexually explicit deepfake designed to be a genuine depiction of a real, identifiable person an offence punishable by up to three years’ jail.
Sharing or threatening to share such images, even if the person hasn’t created them, will also be a crime punishable by up to three years’ jail.
In addition to these new offences, the Government will criminalise the creation, recording and distribution of sexually explicit audio, whether real or designed to sound like a real, identifiable person.
The amendments will bring NSW into line with other jurisdictions that have criminalised the non-consensual production and distribution of sexually explicit material involving adults regardless of how it is created.
Source: NSW Government to strengthen protections against image-based abuse