UK Introduces ‘World-First’ Laws to Ban AI Tools That Create Child Abuse Images
The U.K. will become the first country in the world to make it illegal to use AI tools that create child sexual abuse images.
The U.K. has introduced introduce several “world-first” laws aimed at tackling the use of AI technology to produce child sexual abuse images.
To address a legal loophole that has raised significant concerns among police and online safety advocates, the U.K. will outlaw the possession, creation, and distribution of AI tools intended to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Offenders will face up to five years in prison, according to a report by the BBC.
It will also become illegal for anyone to possess manuals that teach people how to use AI tools to make abusive imagery. Those found guilty will face a potential prison sentence of up to three years.
Other laws set to be introduced include making it an offence to run or moderate websites where paedophiles can share child sexual abuse content or provide advice on how to groom children. That would be punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The BBC reports that the U.K’s Border Force will also be given powers to instruct individuals who they suspect of posing a sexual risk to children to unlock their digital devices for inspection when they attempt to enter the UK, as CSAM is often filmed abroad.
This offence will be punishable by up to three years in prison, depending on the severity of the images.
The new measures announced will be introduced as part of the Crime and Policing Bill when it comes to parliament in the next few weeks.
“You have perpetrators who are using AI to help them better groom or blackmail teenagers and children, distorting images and using those to draw young people into further abuse, just the most horrific things taking place and also becoming more sadistic,” U.K. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper tells the BBC.
“This is an area where the technology doesn’t stand still and our response cannot stand still to keep children safe.”
The new laws come almost a year after the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images was made a criminal offense in the U.K.
Under the legislation, anyone convicted of creating such deepfakes without consent, even if they don’t intend to share the images, will face a criminal record as well as an unlimited fine under a new law. However, if the sexually explicit deepfake image is shared more widely, then the offender could face jail time too.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., senators introduced a bill that would criminalize the spread of nonconsensual deepfake porn — in direct response to the sexually explicit AI-generated photos of Taylor Swift that went viral earlier this year.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.