Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that deepfake nudes and revenge porn must be removed from the internet within 48 hours, with technology firms at risk being block if they do not comply.
Starmer called the rise in such posts a “national emergency” that the government must confront.
Amendments made to the crime and policing bill will also regulate AI chatbots such as X’s Grok, which until has generated non-consensual images of women in compromising positions.
Should companies allow images to spread or be reposted after victims give notice, they could be fined millions or even blocked in the UK totally.
Sources within the government expect Ofcom to receive the new powers by the summer, and companies will be legally required to remove such content no more than 48 hours after it has been flagged to them.
In a previous crackdown on revenge porn in 2023, laws were announced meaning police and prosecutors no longer need to prove perpetrators intended to cause distress, and can be arrested and even jailed for uploading content.
Amendments to the Online Safety Bill made it easier to charge and convict offenders, with those found guilty facing up to six months in prison.
Revenge porn was criminalised in 2015 but, before the changes, prosecutors had to prove there was an intention to cause humiliation or distress.
TV personality Georgia Harrison, whose ex-partner Stephen Bear was jailed in 2023 for posting intimate footage of her on his OnlyFans account, was among those to help push through the change to legislation.
But what is classed as revenge porn and what can you do if you become a victim of it? Here is all we know.
Now, people can be prosecuted for simply sharing them, and such sharing of material does not have to be published.
The offence applies to both online and online, and relates to both images which are shared electronically or in a more traditional way. It can mean sharing by uploading of images on the internet, sharing by text and e-mail, or showing someone a physical or electronic image.
What are the laws around revenge porn?
Revenge porn does not only mean images that show the “pubic region”. The Government states that, under the law, revenge porn is anything that a “reasonable person would consider to be sexual”. It could mean a picture of someone who is engaged in sexual behaviour or posing in a “sexually provocative way”.
There is no threshold applied that states the person posting must have done it with intent to cause upset; the law states anyone uploading anything sexual without consent can be prosecuted.
If you are found guilty of revenge porn offences, sentences can range from community service to two years behind bars, say experts.
How to report revenge porn
There is a charity that is dedicated to helping people affected by revenge porn. The Revenge Porn Helpline is a UK service that supports adults who are victims and do not know where to turn.
The Helpline was established in 2015 alongside the legislation and is run by a “small team of passionate and motivated individuals who are here and ready to help”.
Victims are encouraged to report the incident to police, by calling 101 or going to a police station to speak directly.