{"id":91641,"date":"2024-03-27T11:16:35","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T15:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=91641"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:37:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:37:03","slug":"addressing-deepfake-porn-laws","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/addressing-deepfake-porn-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"Addressing Deepfake Porn Doesn’t Require New Criminal Laws, Which Can Restrict Sexual Fantasy and Promote the Prison System"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n\n \n \n \n \n
\n\n
<\/div>\n \n
\n
\n\n

\n Addressing Deepfake Porn Doesn't Require New Criminal Laws, Which Can Restrict Sexual Fantasy and Promote the Prison System\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

This article is republished<\/a> from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. All photos provided by The Conversation<\/a> from various sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lara Karaian<\/a> is an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at Carleton University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After deepfake pornography of Taylor Swift went viral<\/a> on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Swifties sprung into action<\/a>. They organized to report violations of X’s “Synthetic and Manipulated Media<\/a>” policy and flooded the platform with real images of Swift in an attempt to alter X’s algorithm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incident renewed calls for federal legislation<\/a> regarding deepfake porn. But whether we need to “defeat<\/a>” deepfake porn by censoring<\/a> and criminalizing<\/a> it is up for debate \u2014 or at least it should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a criminologist and sexuality studies scholar with expertise in the legal regulation of sex and sexual expression<\/a>, the push to conflate deepfake porn with misogyny and sexual harm is concerning, as is the call for new criminal laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n