EU agrees to ban non-consensual sexualised deepfakes

European Union member states and negotiators from the European Parliament have reached an agreement to ban artificial intelligence applications used to create non-consensual sexualized deepfakes, according to the Cypriot presidency of the Council of the European Union, cited by foreign media.

The agreement, announced early Thursday, May 7, is part of a broader effort to regulate artificial intelligence while also simplifying other AI-related rules in order to unlock the technology’s economic potential across Europe.

The proposed measure still requires formal approval from both the European Parliament’s plenary session and EU member states, though this step is generally considered a formality.

If adopted, companies will have until December 2, 2026, to ensure their systems comply with the new rules.

Deepfake technology enables the manipulation of digital content, such as inserting a person’s face into another video — including pornographic material — or artificially replicating their voice, creating the impression that they are performing actions or making statements they never actually did. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence have made such fabricated content increasingly realistic and easier to produce.

The planned ban will also explicitly cover the creation of material depicting child sexual abuse, expanding protections against the misuse of AI technologies.

“We are stepping up the protection of children targeting risks linked to the AI systems,” said Marilena Raouna in a statement.

The European Union had already classified the non-consensual sharing of intimate or manipulated material, including deepfakes, as a criminal form of cyber violence in 2024.

Concerns over the spread of deepfake content have been growing among European leaders. Giorgia Meloni previously warned about the risks posed by such technology, highlighting the issue by posting a sexually explicit image of herself that had been artificially generated.

By Tamilla Hasanova