A proposed federal law aimed at criminalizing the creation and distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes may contain a critical gap that could leave victims without protection from content originating on the X platform, a legal expert warns.
Potential Loophole in Proposed Legislation
The bill, which is currently under consideration, seeks to address the growing threat of non-consensual, sexually explicit digital forgeries, commonly known as deepfakes. These AI-generated images and videos can cause severe psychological, reputational, and professional harm to victims.
However, an expert analysis suggests the legislation's current wording might not apply to deepfake content hosted or shared on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. This potential exemption could create a significant enforcement loophole, undermining the law's intended purpose of protecting individuals from digital sexual exploitation.
Defining the Scope and Its Limits
The core of the issue lies in the legal definitions and jurisdictional scope outlined in the bill. For a law to be enforceable, it must clearly define the platforms and types of content it governs. According to the expert, the specific mechanisms or definitions within the draft legislation may inadvertently exclude the architecture or user agreements of the X platform.
This technicality means that while sharing a sexually explicit deepfake on other major social networks or websites could lead to criminal charges, doing so on X might not be covered. This discrepancy highlights the complex challenge lawmakers face in regulating fast-evolving digital spaces and technologies.
Implications for Victims and Next Steps
If the loophole remains, it could have dire consequences. Victims targeted with deepfakes on X would have limited legal recourse, potentially forcing them to rely on the platform's own, often inconsistent, content moderation policies. This creates an uneven landscape of protection for Canadians based purely on where malicious content is posted.
Legal advocates and cybersecurity experts are likely to call for amendments to close this gap before the bill becomes law. The situation underscores the need for legislation to be technologically agile and platform-agnostic to effectively combat digital harms in an era of rapid technological change.
The development of this bill is being closely watched, as Canada seeks to join other jurisdictions in establishing clear legal consequences for those who use artificial intelligence to create non-consensual intimate imagery.
