The definition of revenge porn:
'Revealing or sexually explicit images or videos of a person posted on the internet or shared, without the consent of the subject and in order to cause them distress or embarrassment.'
Due to this definition intimate deepfake images are often treated as a type of revenge porn but unfortunatley, as of right now the UK law does not cover doctored images.
Here are some important things Zara told me that the Revenge Porn Helpline can help do if a deepfake of you is uploaded online, and the laws surrounding it in the UK at the moment.
Zara Roddis is a helpline practitioner from the Revenge Porn Helpline, which is a UK based charity that covers the nation. The Helpline was established in 2015 alongside the legislation which made it an offence to share intimate images or videos of someone, either on or offline, without their consent with the intention of causing distress.
Zara told me the helpline provides "practical advice for victims of initimate image abuse"
I contacted Zara to speak about the rise in cases of deepfake image based abuse from a UK perspective. The lockdown in the UK has meant the helpline has seen a 22% rise in cases reported to the revenge porn helpline compared to 2019.
Regarding deepfakes Zara told me "There has definitely been an increase of it and since lockdown we have seen a massive rise in our cases anyway, as the technology progresses I think it will become a problem very quickly".
The helpline is operated by 4 female practitioners and by April 2020, they had helped over 5,800 people who have contacted the Helpline seeking support and advice for cases of intimate image abuse and had removed over 89% of the content we have reported on behalf of clients.
If you are a victim of intimate image abuse and are seeking advice on what to do the revenge porn helpline can offer advice through an email,a phone call, via an anonymous form or through facebook messenger.
The link to the website is below or they can be contacted on 0345 6000 459 between 10am-4pm Monday to Friday.