The European’s Parliament’s Gender Equality Committee has passed an amendment proposed by MEP for the Midlands-North West constituency Maria Walsh. The amendment pushes for safeguards against deepfake images and videos.
The proposal was supported by the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM ) during a vote that took place in Parliament December 12.
MEP Maria Walsh, member of the FEMM Committee said, “Deepfakes are on the rise across Europe, and blur the crucial line between fiction and reality. The difference between the two can have horrific implications, in particular for women and girls. The devastating personal and emotional effects can be found in the sharing of fake images and videos, in particular those of an intimate nature, between friends, through group chats and in private.”
She added that deepfakes not only impact the wellbeing of individuals but also can be used to spread misinformation, in particular in politics.
She finished her statement saying, “Along with increased regulation to improve detection and prevention, public awareness is key to combatting the negative consequences of deepfakes. Rather than believing everything we see online, our first instinct must be to question the integrity of the digital media we consume.”
