According to Spiegel, the defendants are a 51-year-old and a 20-year-old who, authorities say, are not connected to each other. They are accused of creating AI-generated images and sharing them online, where they garnered millions of views. The indictment is one of the first under the so-called “Take It Down Act,” which was passed last year.
The law imposes stricter penalties not only for publishing AI deepfakes but also for so-called revenge porn. It received bipartisan support. Prosecutor Joseph Nocella said the two men “used cutting-edge digital technology to create images that degraded and abused dozens of women.” The case shows that deepfake pornography is not a trivial offense.
Just last month, a man from Ohio became the first person convicted of using AI to generate child sexual abuse material. In Europe, the EU directive on combating violence against women also bans “cyber violence,” including the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. Germany has not yet transposed the directive into national law but must do so by summer 2026. Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) announced corresponding tightening in March.
Source: www.spiegel.de
