Key Points
- Spain’s cabinet has approved a draft law to regulate AI deepfakes.
- The bill will make it illegal to reuse online images or AI-generated likenesses for commercial purposes without consent.
- It raises the minimum age for giving consent to use one’s own image to 16.
- The move is part of a broader push in the EU to crack down on AI-generated sexual content.
Spain’s cabinet has approved a new draft law aimed at cracking down on AI-generated deepfakes and tightening the rules around the use of people’s images. The move is part of a broader push across Europe to regulate the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on non-consensual sexual content.
The new bill, if enacted, will raise the minimum age for consent to use one’s own image to 16. It will also make it illegal to reuse online images or AI-generated voices and likenesses for commercial purposes without permission.
“The fact that people share personal or family images on social media does not give absolute freedom to use those images in other contexts,” said Justice Minister Felix Bolanos.
The legislation does make an exception for creative, satirical, or fictional works involving public figures, but only if the content is clearly labeled as AI-generated.
This move comes as AI tools, including Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok, are facing global scrutiny for their role in the creation and spread of sexually explicit deepfake images. Earlier this month, the Spanish government even asked prosecutors to look into whether some AI-generated content could be considered child pornography.
The European Union is also stepping up its efforts to regulate deepfakes, with new rules that will require all member states to make non-consensual sexual deepfakes a criminal offense by 2027.
The Spanish draft law still needs to undergo consultation before it can be submitted to parliament for a final vote. But it’s a clear signal that the government is serious about protecting its citizens from the potential harms of AI.
