Australia Passes Laws to Criminalise the Creation, Spread of Explicit Deepfakes

Offenders making and sharing sexually explicit deepfake material could spend up to seven years behind bars as new legislation is passed in Parliament.

A computer user is silhouetted with a row of computer monitors at an Internet cafe in Shenyang, Liaoning on Jan. 28, 2008. AP Photo

People who make and share sexually explicit deepfake content now face imprisonment, after new laws passed Australia’s federal parliament.

The Criminal Code Amendment (Deepfake Sexual Material) Bill 2024 was introduced in June and accepted on Aug. 21.