Summary Offences (Invasive Images and Depictions) Amendment Bill 2024

The Hon. J.S. LEE (17:42): 

I rise today to speak in support of the Summary Offences (Invasive Images and Depictions) Amendment Bill 2024. I wish to thank the Hon. Connie Bonaros for bringing this bill to the chamber and for her diligent work negotiating with the government on subsequent amendments that greatly strengthen the efficacy of the proposed legislation.

The bill will create new offences related to the creation, distribution and threat to distribute artificially generated invasive images and depictions. Commonly known as deepfakes, AI-generated depictions may draw on real photos, video or audio of a real person to create a realistic-looking but false image or video of that person—how disgusting. Most often, such deepfakes are invasive and sexually explicit depictions that seem to portray a real person doing or saying something that they did not actually do, which is pretty scary.

Rapid advances in AI capability have seen an explosion of explicit deepfakes on the internet, with authorities estimating that there has been growth of 550 per cent year on year since 2019. According to Australia's eSafety Commissioner, pornography videos make up 98 per cent of deepfake material currently online, and 99 per cent of that imagery is of women and girls. Deepfakes can be almost impossible to detect, with detectors specifically designed to analyse whether images, video and other media have been artificially manipulated or fabricated entirely, struggling to tell the difference between what is real and what is fake.

With AI programs becoming a common practice in our daily lives, creating deepfakes has become easier than ever before, and our laws must keep pace. We have seen deepfakes used to create child exploitation material, create pornography material without a person's consent, create revenge porn, bully, blackmail, spread misinformation, and destroy reputations. While there are a number of laws that may apply to deepfakes in some circumstances, depending on how they are created or used, this bill will ensure there is no doubt that creating, distributing and threatening to distribute artificially generated invasive images and depictions without consent is unlawful.

The bill seeks to double the existing penalties for indecent filming or sexting offences to match the new deepfake offences. Like the existing penalties, the new offences would have a higher penalty if the person depicted is under the age of 17 years. I note that the honourable member has also filed a series of amendments to include offences for creating a humiliating or degrading depiction of a person, such as content depicting an assault or other act of violence done by or against a person, or an act that would be considered humiliating or degrading to the real person.

There is a test against generally accepted community standards, so something that would only be considered to cause minor or moderate embarrassment would not be captured by this legislation—it is pretty commonsense stuff. It is important that amended offences are included. Humiliating and degrading deepfake content can be just as damaging to a victim's reputation and personal and professional relationships as can sexually explicit content.

The idea of someone maliciously spreading an awful image or video that looks like you or someone you love is terrible and nauseating. It can have long-term psychological impacts, causing shame, anxiety and depression. We have all seen too many cases of the tragic impact it can have, particularly on vulnerable young people. I also mention that, for multicultural communities, if any shame or lies are told about them, it creates lots of taboos and damage, not just for the person but for the families and the communities.

We must ensure that our laws prevent the proliferation of harmful deepfake content and protect vulnerable community members from being threatened and exploited in such a way. I commend the Hon. Connie Bonaros for her interest, passion and diligent and thoughtful work on this bill. With those remarks, I commend the bill to the chamber.