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Campaigners have “landed a really important blow” in the battle against misogyny by their work to crack down on deepfake abuse, Parliament has heard.
Conservative Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge received praise from her fellow peers for spearheading a campaign in the upper chamber to ban the creation and solicitation of intimate images of people without their consent.
Her proposed law change was tabled in response to concerns over how technology is aiding the abuse of women, with so-called nudify apps allowing users to create fake nude images or videos of other people through generative artificial intelligence.
Lady Owen’s Non-Consensual Sexually Explicit Images and Videos (Offences) Bill completed its final stages in the Lords on Friday, although it is not expected to progress further in its current form due to a lack of Government support.
Ministers have instead agreed to make changes to the Data (Use and Access) Bill based on the proposals put forward by Lady Owen.
This will make it a crime to create a sexually explicit deepfake image or film without the other person’s consent, while steps will also be taken to ensure the confiscation of illicit material from offenders and the hardware on which it is stored.
Lady Owen, 31, thanked campaigners and charities for helping “every step of the way”, saying: “I feel very optimistic that the content of this Bill has been addressed and accepted by the Government in a different format.”
She added: “I hope the Commons will recognise the strength of feeling across this House on deepfake image abuse and I’m hopeful we are now one step closer to seeing its end.”
Speaking for the Liberal Democrats, Lord Clement-Jones, 75, said: “This is part of a wider battle against misogyny and Baroness Owen has landed a really important blow in that battle.”
Labour peer Lord Mann praised Lady Owen for her “courage” in bringing forward the proposals, adding the “country is with her on this”.
The 65-year-old joked he joined the Lords as a “youngster, relatively” in 2019, adding: “I think it’s very appropriate to note as well that this place doesn’t simply require people of my generation, free bus pass people, bringing great wisdom and experience.
“It can also equally, and sometimes more, benefit from younger voices bringing a different, more modern perspective and perhaps that points some direction to the future of this place.”
Justice minister Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede, 66, said: “I absolutely agree that the Government should and does stand with the victims and it’s the victims who are the main beneficiaries for the changes that we’re planning to put through.”
He also agreed with Lord Clement-Jones, saying: “This is a part of wider battle and it’s a wider battle that we’ll continue to fight through other pieces of legislation.”
Lord Ponsonby went on to acknowledge the “country supports Baroness Owen” in her campaigning, saying: “I actually joined this House when I was about the same age as (Lady Owen) is now and you can make changes and the House is a welcoming place.
“(Lady Owen) certainly has used her seat in this House for the benefit of victims.”
Elsewhere in the Lords, the Public Authority Algorithmic and Automated Decision-Making Systems Bill cleared the House although faces a battle to secure parliamentary time in the Commons.
The Bill, tabled by Lord Clement-Jones, seeks to establish a mandatory framework for the responsible use of algorithmic and automated decision-making systems in the public sector.
Labour whip Lord Leong said the Government is already “taking active steps” to deal with the issues raised by Lord Clement-Jones.
