SDE wants to make deepfake sexual imagery distribution a crime in parliament

The Social Democratic Party has submitted a draft law to parliament that would criminalize the distribution of non-consensual deepfake sexual images. According to the party, current legislation does not regulate this area clearly enough. The draft aims to create a clear legal basis for preventing the spread of such images.

The Social Democratic Party (SDE) has submitted a draft law to parliament addressing the distribution of artificially created fake nude images, known as deepfakes. According to the party, Estonia currently lacks a sufficiently clear legal framework that would make the distribution of non-consensually created sexual or explicit deepfake images unambiguously punishable.

The draft law submitted by SDE aims to criminalize situations where a person's face or likeness has been placed, without their consent, into sexually explicit or obscene digitally created images or video clips. Such materials cause serious psychological harm to victims and can damage their reputation and privacy, party representatives noted.

Current Estonian legislation does not always provide a clear legal assessment of deepfake image distribution, making it difficult for victims to seek help and for law enforcement to act. SDE believes that clear legal regulation would help protect people, particularly women, from this type of digital violence.

The growth of deepfake technology in recent years has made creating such images increasingly easier and more accessible, in turn raising the risk of their malicious use. Several European countries have already taken steps to legally regulate this type of content.