Member of the European Parliament, Maria Walsh, says Ireland should lead the way in legislating on AI-generated ‘deep fake’ non-consensual and pornographic images.
Fine Gael’s Walsh, who represents the Ireland Midlands-North West constituency in Strasbourg, has been warning for two years that deepfakes represent a new and serious form of gender-based violence, disproportionately targeting women and girls.
She says Ireland’s upcoming turn to hold the EU Council presidency in 2026 is an opportunity to drive reform.
“Ireland houses the European headquarters of many of the world’s largest social media companies, including X. With this, comes a unique responsibility within the EU to show leadership, and legislate for the full criminalisation of the creation and sharing of deepfakes and AI sexual imagery,” she said.
“Our laws – both in Ireland and across Europe – have failed to keep up with the pace of deepfake technology. As things stand, our legal system is not able to protect innocent victims, and we now find ourselves in a place where even legal experts are questioning what role our legislation can play in tackling this issue.
“The rate at which new laws are created at a European level can sometimes be frustratingly slow. And while the EU’s Digital Services Act and the AI Act are important steps, they do not go far enough in addressing the creation of sexual deepfakes. Nor do these laws provide victims with the clear protections they deserve.
“While the presence of major social media companies brings employment and economic opportunities to Ireland’s shores, it also carries a clear moral obligation. Ireland can and should lead here – and we have a particularly valuable opportunity to do so during our upcoming Presidency of the EU Council beginning in July.
“We must introduce national legislation which explicitly criminalises the creation of a non-consensual deepfake, setting a standard for other EU countries to follow. At the same time, Ireland must drive reform at an EU level by placing this firmly on the political agenda during our Presidency. This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity for Ireland to leave a lasting legacy within the EU in protecting women, children and vulnerable victims from this deeply harmful form of abuse.”
