Creating and sharing of false pornographic images and videos known as deepfakes could become a criminal offence in Northern Ireland under new proposals out for public consultation.

A deepfake is an image or video that has been digitally altered with the help of artificial intelligence to replace the face of one person with the face of another.

There is no legislation in Northern Ireland to protect adults from the practice.

SDLP assembly member Cara Hunter, who has campaigned for a change in the law since she was targeted in a deepfake video, said the images can “ruin lives”.

Plans to tackle it in England and Wales were announced by the government earlier in 2025.

Justice Minister Naomi Long said the practice could ruin lives and her department was aiming to crack down on it, as part of a new Justice Bill.

“It is abhorrent behaviour which can have devastating consequences for those whose identities are misused, the overwhelming majority of whom are women,” she said.

She described how victims reported feeling embarrassed, humiliated, violated and unsafe.

“They can suffer from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, and some people even consider suicide because of their experiences,” she added.

East Londonderry MLA Cara Hunter’s face was digitally superimposed on to the face of another person.

The video was circulated widely on WhatsApp and social media in the run up to the 2022 Stormont elections but the person responsible was never identified.

“These fake images can ruin lives,” Hunter said.

“Victims often have to put up with images being shared widely online and this is an incredibly dehumanising and humiliating experience that can impact jobs, relationships and day-to-day life, leading to mental and other health problems.

“I strongly welcome this public consultation that must lead to serious consequences for anyone involved in the creation and sharing of sexual deepfake images.”

Hunter stressed the need for victim-centred legislation and urged the public to respond to the consultation.

She said the consultation was a “strong first step” but that she “wished it happened some time ago”.

“The level of urgency around AI harm, just speaking from my own experience, I think we weren’t seeing the same energy and urgency it requires,” Hunter said.

She added that “there can never be too much investment when it comes to cyber crime” and that any law should be imposed retrospectively and be tried in a Crown Court.

“We need to be firm and tough with laws around deepfake creation and I think that perpetrators need to pay a very strong price.”

The consultation will run until 6 October.

The justice department said it dealt with a range of factors, including motivation and whether the proposed offence should be dealt with in the crown or magistrates’ courts.

It said other elements of the consultation included the sentences that should be available to judges should the creation and sharing of a sexually explicit deep fake image become a criminal offence.

Long added the creation of new offences would “add to a suite of measures already in place to protect people from intolerable sexually motivated behaviours” and “eradicate violence against women and girls”.

She said the department was “conscious of” the fact that the complexities of crimes being investigated by the PSNI are increasing.

“It’s why it’s so important that, first of all, we keep pace with the offending behaviour but also that we get the resources we need to ensure that we can bring those offenders to justice.”

Sonya McMullan from Women’s Aid NI welcomed the public consultation but said more work needed to be done when it comes to technology companies who are being “allowed to facilitate” the creation of deepfakes.

“This is just anther weapon that can be utilised by perpetrators to further violate their victim,” she told BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme.

“Creating harmful content, especially when it’s an intimate image of an individual, can create so much harm,” said Ms McMullan.

“The impact that it can have – the trauma, and people know the damage it can do to individuals.

“And because people don’t know what’s real and what’s not real anymore – once it’s out there it’s out there.”