This is probably how European lawmakers reacted to the recently circulated fake porn images of Taylor Swift.
Back in 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for a directive to combat domestic violence and other forms of violence against women, and now the council and parliament have agreed to a proposal to criminalize cyberviolence as well.
It is about the introduction of criminal liability for the distribution of intimate images of a person without his consent, deepfakes or other pornographic images generated by artificial intelligence. Cyberbullying and misogyny will also be criminalised.
“This is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed given the exponential spread and dramatic impact of online violence,” it said.
In addition, the directive will require EU member states to develop measures that can help users more easily identify cyberbullying and know how to prevent it or where to seek help (a separate online portal is proposed for this purpose).
Probably, such hasty actions of European legislators were influenced by the recent distribution of II pornographic images of Taylor Swift, which collected millions of views on X (the social network even temporarily blocked the singer’s name in searches).
“The last bad way to humiliate women is to share any intimate AI-generated images within minutes,” European Commission Vice President Vira Jourova told Politico. “This kind of content can cause huge damage not only to pop stars, but also to every woman who has to prove at work or at home that it was a deepfake.”
The above-mentioned proposals are only part of the draft law, which still needs to be approved by representatives of the EU countries. Previously, a similar Taylor Swift law was proposed by US lawmakers.
