AI-Generated Imagery - Legal Update

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the 'big thing' in 2024. Whilst it presents exciting and novel opportunities for the future, unfortunately as is so often the case with new and emerging technology, it is also open to abuse.

Existing legislation covers AI-supported offences reasonably well, but it has become apparent there are a few blind spots. The Government has announced plans for four new laws to address these limitations:

• Possessing, creating or distributing Al tools designed to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM), with a sentence of up to five years.
• Possessing AI manuals which teach how to use AI to abuse children, with a sentence of up to three years.
• Operating websites for the sharing of child sexual abuse content or advice on how to groom children, with a sentence of up to 10 years. This is intended to close loopholes in existing distribution legislation where the operator may deny knowledge of the content, and also to allow for longer sentences given the severity of the offences.
• Granting UK Border Force new powers to force someone who they suspect poses a sexual risk to children to unlock their digital devices for inspection.

These measures are set to be introduced as part of the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill.

This latest announcement follows the Government’s plans to make it a specific offence to create sexually explicit 'deepfakes' without consent (and either with intent to cause alarm, humiliation, or distress, or for the purpose of sexual gratification). This closes a loophole where the sharing (or threatening to share) such images was illegal due to changes introduced in the Online Safety Bill 2023, but the creation of the images was not. The Data (Use and Access) Bill, currently before Parliament, is intended to introduce this change.

If you have a case that involves AI technology, Keith Borer Consultants can help you understand what the evidence is, what it means, and where it sits within current legislation. Similarly, if you’d like to know more about AI, how to tell if something is fake, and the surrounding legislation, please contact us to discuss training possibilities.

Ross Donnelly has also written a related article: Artificial Intelligence in Digital Forensics: a force for good or bad?