- The Crisafulli Government will introduce new laws to criminalise the creation of non-consensual intimate images generated or altered using digital technology.
- The reforms will prioritise victims' rights to privacy, dignity and autonomy over the rights of offenders who create harmful and exploitative content.
- The new laws will protect students and teachers from AI-generated content used to cyber-bully.
- The Crisafulli Government is making Queensland safer after a decade of decline under the former Labor Government.
The Crisafulli Government will slam shut a loophole and introduce new laws to criminalise the creation of 'deepfake' sexually explicit images of a person without their consent using digital technology, as part of its commitment to make Queensland safer.
Advances in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), have made it easier than ever to create hyper-realistic images and videos that falsely depict real people.
Highly accessible AI tools can now generate sexually explicit content without a person's knowledge or consent – a growing concern in Queensland schools – with harmful content being generated to cyber-bully.
To ensure Queensland laws keep pace with technology, the Crisafulli Government will criminalise the creation of intimate images of a person through digital technology without their consent, closing the loophole that has allowed perpetrators to evade accountability.
The proposed new offence will:
- Capture intimate images that are digitally altered or created entirely using digital technology, such as through image-editing software, AI-generated images or "nudify" applications.
- Include images of simulated or digitally generated people that closely resemble, or purport to be, an identifiable real person, ensuring offenders cannot evade accountability through technical loopholes.
- Carry a proposed maximum penalty of 3 years imprisonment.
Attorney-General, Minister for Justice and Minister for Integrity Deb Frecklington said the reforms demonstrate the Crisafulli Government's commitment to prioritising victims' rights to privacy, dignity and autonomy and making Queensland safer.
"This is for the women who have had their images weaponised against them, the teachers who have been the subject of heinous cyber-bullying, and for every victim who was told the law couldn't help - because now we are changing that," the Attorney-General said.
"Technology is evolving rapidly, and unfortunately we're seeing it used in ways that harm people.
"For too long, offenders have been able to exploit a loophole in the law to create harmful and exploitative content without facing the full consequences. We are closing that loophole.
"Creating intimate images of someone without their consent is a serious invasion of privacy. It can cause deep emotional distress and lasting reputational harm."
The Crisafulli Government will undertake targeted consultation with stakeholders across the education, legal, sexual violence and online safety sectors as part of developing the legislation.
