Victims of digital violence on the internet will receive stronger protection in the future. Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) presented a draft law that closes gaps in criminal law and gives victims more options to defend themselves. The law targets pornographic deepfakes, fabricated images created without the consent of those affected using artificial intelligence. However, it also covers a wide range of other forms of online violence, and it holds digital service providers accountable.
Hubig described digital violence as a "mass phenomenon" affecting millions of people in Germany. "Women are particularly affected: in more than six out of ten cases, digital violence is directed against women." Digital violence "can have consequences just as severe as physical violence in individual cases: It can deeply unsettle, disturb, injure people, and destroy their social environment," she said.
The creation and distribution of pornographic deepfakes will be punishable by up to two years in prison in the future. Currently, simply producing fake pornographic images is not a criminal offense in Germany.
The future ban covers the unauthorized production and distribution of intimate image material in general, both real recordings and those generated by AI. This includes sexualized deepfakes, cases of digital voyeurism (such as unauthorized recordings from saunas), rape videos, and so-called revenge porn. Deepfakes that are not sexual in nature but violate the personal rights of those affected in other ways will also be prohibited.
German criminal law is "not yet sufficiently adapted" to such criminal developments on the internet, Hubig said. "It takes less than a minute to create a deepfake that looks genuinely deceptive and massively violates personal rights. And yet we have not had a specific criminal offense for this until now."
The new law aims to close such gaps in criminal liability and also places greater responsibility on online platforms and internet access providers. Courts will be able to compel them to provide information about the identity of suspected internet perpetrators and to store their data.
The issue of digital violence recently gained significant public attention in connection with allegations by actress Collien Fernandes against her ex-husband. The coalition had already agreed on the law against digital violence in the coalition agreement before this high-profile case became known. The Federal Cabinet is scheduled to adopt Hubig's proposal next Wednesday.
The planned law introduces three new criminal offenses into the Criminal Code. The production and distribution of sexualized deepfakes will be covered, as will the distribution of other, non-sexual, deepfakes that violate the personal rights of another person. Furthermore, the use of information technology, such as GPS trackers, for the secret surveillance of other people will also be regulated in a new criminal provision.
The law is intended to make it easier for victims of digital violence to obtain information about the identity of the perpetrator through court proceedings in the future. Those affected can simply contact a court directly. A lawyer is not necessary, and no court fees are charged. The court then contacts the online operators and requests information about the suspected perpetrator.
Victims should also be able to enforce injunction and compensation claims more easily. Courts should also be able to require platform operators to store relevant data earlier than before, to prevent the loss of data, and thus important evidence.
Furthermore, judges should be able to order the blocking of user accounts more easily in the future "to prevent or stop serious violations of rights," as stated in the draft law. The accounts can also be blocked even if it is not possible to identify the owner.
The draft law explicitly lists a whole series of manifestations of digital violence that the new regulation is directed against. For example, it addresses threatening or violence-glorifying posts on the internet, the unauthorized publication of personal data such as addresses or phone numbers, the unwanted sending of pornographic images, and other forms of harassment.
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