The ‘new voyeurism’: criminalizing the creation of ‘deepfake porn’

Abstract

Lawmakers around the world are turning their attention to deepfake sexual abuse to reduce its prevalence and provide redress to victims. Thus far, criminal law reforms have tended to focus on the distribution of this material, with far less attention given to targeting the root cause – namely, creation and solicitation. Accordingly, we provide the first comprehensive analysis of sexually explicit deepfake creation. We explore the distinct harms of creation, including the ‘invisible threat’ of deepfake sexual abuse now pervading the lives of all women and girls. ‘Sexual digital forgeries’ is suggested as a more appropriate term that better recognizes the nature and harms of this form of abuse. We justify the deployment of criminal sanctions, advancing the idea that this phenomenon should be understood as the ‘new voyeurism’. The laws in jurisdictions that currently criminalize creating sexually explicit deepfakes are examined, together with law reform options being considered in England and Wales. We recommend that legislators act with urgency, adopting a comprehensive approach to criminalizing creation.