EU Lawmakers Targeted by Deepfake Pornography, Report Finds

Fifty European Union lawmakers, including 46 women, have been the targets of deepfake pornography, according to new research released Monday.

The number of women targeted by deepfake pornography — when generative AI is used to create sexually explicit depictions of people, often without their consent — means roughly one in six female members of the European Parliament have been affected, the report by Agora Digitale Transformation, a Germany-based civil society group, said.

The European Union is banning AI-powered nudifier apps on Dec. 2, and is also investigating similar use of Grok on the social media platform X.

A cross-party group of 119 MEPs called for effective enforcement of the ban and prompt resolution of the investigation into Grok, in a Sept. 30 letter sent to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the Council of the EU Antonio Costa, Parliament President Roberta Metsola, EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen and Commissioner Hadja Lahbib. The signatories included leaders of the liberal Renew, the socialists, and The Left: Iratxe Garcia Pérez, Valérie Hayer, and Manon Aubry, respectively.

“There can't be any loopholes or delays” in enforcing the ban, Austrian Greens MEP Lena Schilling, who also signed the letter, told reporters on Monday.

Politicians can't opt out of having their likeness online, so it's hard for them to avoid being targeted by AI nudifiers, said Benjamin Shultz, who co-authored the report.

Shultz said that to enforce the ban, the Commission needs to hold accountable all entities that, at times, inadvertently enable the nudifier industry. That also includes payment processors and domain registrars. The report said the Commission should also look into how to get search engines to de-index AI nudifier websites, meaning removing them from their databases.