The EU approach to non-consensual sexual deepfakes: criminal law, tech regulation and the risk of fragmentation

Journal article

The significant harm caused by non-consensual sexual deepfakes is now well-established. Nevertheless, it was only with Art. 5 Sec. 1(b) of the recent Directive (EU) 2024/1385 that the EU mandates Member States to criminalize conducts related to non-consensual sexual deepfakes. However, many national criminal codes across Europe do not yet criminalize such acts. This paper critically examines the reasons behind this “regulatory gap”: it provides an overview of the phenomenon and its legal framework, with the intention to demonstrate that it has been – and continues to be – largely overlooked both by national criminal law and by the EU in its strategies for regulating AI and emerging technologies. It argues that as long as these two branches of law continue to operate on separate tracks, the root causes of such misconduct will remain insufficiently addressed. The paper concludes that effective solutions require a stronger framework than the one adopted by Directive (EU) 2024/1385 and – drawing on the comparative findings – recommends that EU Member States, in transposing the Directive, adopt more stringent provisions.

Authors: Fedorczyk, F

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft
• Journal: European Criminal Law Review
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 314-342
• Publication date: 2025-07-01
• Acceptance date: 2025-05-01
• DOI: 10.5771/2193-5505-2025-3-314
• EISSN: 2193-5505
• ISSN: 2191-7442
• Language: English