Deepfakes, Real Consequences: NSW Cracks Down on AI Image Abuse
The New South Wales Government has introduced significant legal reforms aimed at tackling the growing misuse of artificial intelligence, particularly in the form of deepfakes and image-based abuse.
These changes, announced by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, reflect an urgent need to modernise the law in response to rapidly advancing technology.
Traditionally, offences relating to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images – often referred to as “revenge porn”- focused on real photographs or recordings of people. However, the rise of sophisticated AI tools has made it increasingly easy to generate highly realistic fake images, videos and even audio recordings of individuals without their knowledge or consent. These deepfakes can be used to harass, intimidate or humiliate people, often with devastating personal and reputational consequences.
The updated laws close this gap by expanding the definition of image-based abuse to explicitly include AI-generated and manipulated content. This means that ,even if an image or video is entirely fabricated, it can still constitute a criminal offence if it depicts a person in an intimate or explicit way without their consent.
Under the reforms, it is now an offence to create, share or threaten to share such material.
Importantly, the law captures not only those who distribute the content, but also those who produce it in the first place. This broader approach reflects a recognition that harm can occur at multiple stages, including the mere existence or threatened release of such material.
The penalties are substantial. Offenders can face up to three years’ imprisonment, signalling the seriousness with which these offences are now viewed. The reforms effectively place deepfake abuse on the same legal footing as the existing intimate image abuse offences.
These changes also work alongside existing Commonwealth laws, such as offences relating to the use of a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. While those provisions focus on the method of communication such as sending messages via phone or the internet, the new NSW laws focus on the nature of the content itself. Together, they provide law enforcement with a more comprehensive framework to address online abuse.
These reforms send a clear message: the misuse of technology to harm others, whether through real or fabricated material, is criminal conduct. As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, so too must the legal system. By extending protections to cover deepfakes and similar technologies, NSW is taking an important step toward ensuring that individuals are safeguarded in an increasingly digital world.
