The UK Ministry of Justice has announced that under new legislation, the production of sexually explicit "deepfake" images will be classified as a criminal offense in England and Wales. According to the law, anyone who produces adult explicit images without the consent of others will face criminal records and unlimited fines. If the image is subsequently widely shared, the creator may be sent to prison. The new law means that even without dissemination, the production of sexually explicit deepfakes will still constitute a criminal offense. Merely creating such content with the intention of causing fear, humiliation, or distress to the victim will be considered a criminal act. Deepfakes use artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to produce realistic videos, images, audio, and text depicting events that never occurred. A range of sexually explicit images involving celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson and Taylor Swift are implicated. The UK's Online Safety Bill has already made it illegal to share AI-generated intimate images without consent since January. The bill also introduces further provisions that prohibit the sharing and threatening of non-consensual intimate images. This offense will be established through amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently under parliamentary review. "The production of deepfake explicit images is despicable and completely unacceptable, regardless of whether the image is shared," said Laura Farris, Minister for Victims and Safeguarding. "This is another example of some people attempting to degrade and dehumanize others. If the material is shared more widely, it could have catastrophic consequences. The government will not tolerate this behavior." "This new offense sends a clear message that the production of such material is unethical, often misogynistic, and a crime," she added. "How prevalent is illegal deepfake production in the UK?" According to an investigation by Channel 4 News, nearly 4,000 well-known individuals who have become victims of deepfake pornography have been identified on just the most popular deepfake websites. In the first three quarters of 2023 alone, over 143,733 new deepfake porn videos were uploaded online, surpassing the total number from all previous years. Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman is one of the victims. In response to her video, she said, "It feels like a violation. When someone out there is piecing together this video, I can't see them, but they can see this imagined version of me, this fake me, and it feels really sinister." Anti-deepfake proliferation activist Cally Jane Beech welcomes this move. She said, "What I have endured is more than just embarrassment or inconvenience. Too many women continue to have their privacy, dignity, and identity maliciously violated in this way, and it must stop."