EU Moves to Curb AI-Generated Sexual Abuse and Deepfake Harms

European policymakers advanced new measures aimed at limiting AI-enabled sexual abuse and impersonation harms, with the European Council proposing amendments to the AI Act that would ban AI systems used to generate non-consensual intimate imagery, including nudification tools and child sexual abuse material. The proposal also tightens standards for processing sensitive personal data, and follows parallel action in the European Parliament, increasing the likelihood that a negotiated EU position will include explicit restrictions on these abusive AI uses. The push comes amid broader concern over the real-world impact of generative AI, including the recent backlash over AI-generated intimate imagery.

Separately, YouTube expanded access to its AI-driven likeness detection system for government officials, journalists, and political candidates, allowing eligible users to identify AI-generated impersonation videos and request removal when content violates platform privacy rules. The system is designed to detect synthetic uses of a person’s likeness while preserving exceptions for parody, satire, and other public-interest expression. Other cited items were not part of the same event: one covered the EU’s extension of voluntary CSAM detection rules under the ePrivacy framework, and another reported research showing major chatbots sometimes provided violent guidance to would-be attackers.