THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS is drafting legislation to tackle deepfakes that would give everyone copyright over the own image and voice. 

Speaking at the party’s national conference, leader Holly Cairns hit out at the government for their “weak” response to dealing with AI-generated child sex abuse images being created on an industrial scale.

In countries like France, the offices of X were raided, she said, stating that in Ireland, the company’s reps “were politely asked for a meeting” in the Oireachtas. 

Cairns said a new law needs to be introduced to give everybody “copyright like ownership” of their own body and voice, so it can’t be used.

Deepfake images

She said it currently only exists for the likes of musicians, but told reporters that if everybody had copyright like ownership of their own body and voice, “there’ll be consequences for people who are creating deep fake images of people”. 

The SocDems leader said the world is changing so much and so quickly, stating that nowhere is that more evidenced than online.

“It’s it’s hard for politics to keep up at times. I think we need to be thinking outside of the box. In this particular scenario, I think we do need a new law. I think we do need to have copyright like rights to their own body,” she said. 

A similar proposal was previously put forward by Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne last year, where he introduced the Protection of Voice and Image Bill. 

The Bill sets out to make it an offence to publish, distribute or otherwise make public any manipulated or unauthorised use of a person’s identity for the purposes of advertising, political messaging, fundraising, influencing public opinion and selling goods and services without the individual’s consent.

This would include technologies or software designed primarily to replicate somebody’s image or voice.

Other countries are moving to legislate in the area, with the likes of celebrity Paris Hilton supporting legislation in the US which seeks to allow victims of nonconsensual deepfake pornography to sue individuals who produce and distribute the AI-generated content.

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Paris Hilton speaking out about her experience of deepfakes. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking last month, Hilton said: “Deepfake pornography has become an epidemic,” Hilton told a crowd outside the US Capitol building on Thursday. “It’s the newest form of victimisation happening at scale – to your daughters, your sisters, your friends, and neighbours”.

Responding to a poll in The Irish Times today that found three-quarters of voters in Ireland back a social media ban for under-16s, Cairns said that it is something that “should be looked into”. 

However, she said the reality is, at the moment, there is already a ban in place for under 13s “and that simply does not work”.

“We need to focus on making online spaces better and safer for children, for minorities, and to do that, we need to address the toxic algorithms that are feeding people hate and toxicity by default,” she said.