Charlotte Owen in the House of Lords (Image: Parliament TV)
One of the youngest peers in the House of Lords will attempt to make her mark by criminalising deepfake porn.
Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge, who entered the Upper Chamber aged 30, wants to introduce a private member’s bill to make the non-consensual creation and solicitation of digitally altered sexually explicit images illegal.
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She became the youngest person to receive a life peerage in 2023 but Plaid Cymru's Carmen Smith now holds the title after taking her seat as Baroness Smith of Llanfaes aged 28.
Baroness Owen, now 31, told how women have “lost their ability to choose who owns sexually explicit images of them”.
She said: “Anyone can walk into the pub, take a picture of a woman without her consent and then create and own a naked, sexually explicit image of her, or insert that photograph into a pornographic situation.
“This is abuse.”
This content is becoming more extreme, the peer warned.
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She said: “Men are doing this to their mums and sisters. It’s like a race to the bottom of how degrading and depraved this content is.”
Baroness Owen was given the life peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list 18 months ago after working as a special adviser to the former prime minister.
Deepfakes are created using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms to manipulate media, typically a person's face or body, to make it appear as if they did or said something they did not.
Sharing of sexually explicit deepfakes became illegal early this year when the Online Safety Act came into force but creating and soliciting the images is still not a criminal offence.
Campaign group My Image, My Choice found that 80% of currently available deepfake apps had been launched in the last 12 months.
Baroness Owen said: “Every woman should have the right to choose who owns an intimate image of her,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s so difficult for the government to do this.”
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Her Non-Consensual Sexually Explicit Images and Videos (Offences) Bill, which is at committee stage, has the backing of charities and campaigners including Refuge; Revenge Porn Helpline; My Image, My Choice; Not Your Porn; Jodie Campaigns; End Violence Against Women Coalition; and Professor Clare McGlynn KC.
It was supported by a group of 22 cross-party peers when it received its second reading earlier this month.
But ministers have withheld their support for the bill despite the government committing to criminalise the creation of deepfakes.
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It is understood that ministers are intending to bring forward their own legislation that would address the issue in the Commons next year, although details are not yet known.
Owen has since tabled an amendment to the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which is also at committee stage in the House of Lords, in a dual-pronged approach to changing the law.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Sexually explicit deepfakes are degrading, harmful and, more often than not, misogynistic. We refuse to tolerate the violence against women and girls that stains our society which is why we’re looking at options to ban their creation as quickly as possible.”