The emergence of an online bank of deepfake images of Irish politicians and public figures highlight the need for urgent action at EU and national levels, MEP Maria Walsh has said.
The bank of AI-generated content contains fake images of politicians that are easily available and free to download. MEP Walsh is calling for stronger legislation from both the European Commission and Irish Government to tackle this issue as a matter of urgency.
MEP Maria Walsh, full member of the European Parliament’s Gender Equality Committee, said:
“I was not surprised to see the creation of dozens of fake images of politicians, including myself, given that a deepfake only takes a couple of minutes to make and costs nothing. While the majority of these images are not malicious or sexually explicit, they highlight the ease at which the public can access fake images and videos of public figures.
“I believe this online bank of images only scratches the surface of what is actually being created – many of which are likely to be far more malicious in nature. The most popular type of deepfake is pornographic; 96% of all deepfakes are created are sexual images or videos. Women and girls make up 99% of the impacted victims.
“I have been sounding the alarm on this issue for several months now, and I fear we are facing a tsunami of fake images and videos that will destroy reputations and completely undermine trust in our political system. It is only a matter of time until we see devastating consequences emerge from the forthcoming flood of misinformation.
“EU legislation covering AI-generated content, such as the AI Act and Digital Service Act, already exists but regulatory authorities are struggling to keep pace with technological change. At an Irish level, Coco’s Law prohibits the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, including deep-fake intimate images. However, the creation of a deepfake is not in itself an offence under the legislation. There is also no legislation that addresses the creation or dissemination of deep-fakes that are not classified as intimate images.
“Through my work on the Gender Equality Committee, I have called on the European Commission to significantly increase deep-fake detection and prevention tools, and also to address gender-specific digital threats within AI regulations. Looking closer to home, the Government must work to future-proof our legislation to ensure the public are protected against deepfakes and other damaging technologies that will continue to emerge over the coming months and years.”
