‘I felt disgusted’: MEP speaks out over nude deepfakes and urges EU action

Lena Schilling, an Austrian member of the European Parliament for the Green party, has expressed her disgust over nude deepfakes of her being circulated online without her consent. These AI-generated images, altered to remove her clothing, depicted her in a vulnerable moment from a press conference, causing her significant distress.

Schilling revealed that she learned of these deepfakes last month, as discovered by the Agora Digitale Transformation (ADT) thinktank. The report found that 46 of 50 affected MEPs are women, highlighting how deepfake pornography has become a systemic threat to women in European politics. The ADT previously reported that 138 female parliamentarians from 22 EU countries had been affected, with women 33 times more likely to be depicted in deepfake pornography.

Schilling emphasized that these deepfakes are a form of "digital violence against women," exacerbating the already disproportionate levels of sexism, harassment, and violence faced by women in politics. This harassment makes it even more challenging for women to enter public life, potentially causing them to disappear from the political sphere.

Schilling urged the EU to take action, citing a recent letter signed by 119 MEPs calling for a ban on apps and websites using AI to undress women. The letter emphasized the importance of enforcing such a ban, as merely having a prohibition on paper is ineffective without enforcement. The ultimate goal is to prevent this form of digital violence from becoming the new normal, ensuring that women can run for office without fear of being undressed against their will.