Non-Consensual Sexually Explicit Images and Videos (Offences) Bill [HL]

Baroness Featherstone Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 13th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Featherstone (LD)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Bethell, and I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Owen of Alderley Edge, on this important Bill. It is such a well-thought-through Bill, and it fills all the gaps— hugely important gaps—left by other legislation. I hesitate to mention that this was a gap left by her own Government and pointed out by myself and many others when the Online Safety Bill was going through. We begged then for consent to be the legal bar on intimate image sharing, only to be told that intent was more than adequate. I am sure that, by now, her Conservative colleagues have learned the error of their ways.

I am also concerned that the Government will pray in aid their manifesto and say that a Bill is coming—next year, some time, never—but women cannot wait. As a party of change, it would be so welcome if the Government just accepted this opportunity and put women before party.

The noble Baroness, Lady Owen, brilliantly introduced the Bill in its detail and content. I particularly welcome that the new threat and abhorrent practice of deepfakes is tackled in law for the first time. Deepfakes circulate the world in moments. Although there is education and training to understand how we make sure we can critically challenge all that we see, particularly on social media, we are still easy prey to the truest of sayings: seeing is believing.

Sadly, we are never going to be able to prevent this practice, so we must criminalise it as soon as possible and, of course, try to prevent it. There is an exponential rise in the prevalence of sexually explicit deepfakes and the vast majority of deepfakes are, as we have heard, gendered. The harm that these deepfakes do is shattering to women and girls used in this way, and I thank those in the Gallery for coming today. This is an absolute violation. It is an assault; it is invasive and a threat. The individual cannot get justice or redress, and the harm—emotional, psychological, reputational, professional and economic—is real and hideous.

Deepfakes can be created in around eight seconds. The shock and upset of seeing your image manipulated into pornography and shared with your friends, relatives and the whole world is devastating. While you will explain that it is not you, many will not believe you. We are already in so much trouble with social media giving a distorted view of real life. For young people trying to understand and navigate to their maturity, this is a nightmare, particularly where anxiety and mental health issues are already heightened.

We know already that 51% of 13 to 17 year-olds have seen people circulating non-consensual intimate images and that more than 23% have witnessed people taking sexual pictures of someone and sharing them. Undoubtedly, deepfakes are already being used to hurt and damage, and the technology is already being misused. The reality of all of this will be that some young people will take their own lives as a result. There is no time to lose. The Government must act.