Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Written Statement of 12 January 2026 on Social Media: Non-consensual Sexual Deepfakes, whether the changes announced will apply to Northern Ireland.

The Technology Secretary announced on 12 January that the offence criminalising the creation of non-consensual intimate images would be commenced as a matter of urgency. This offence will apply in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own, separate offences for dealing with image-based abuse.

It was also announced that the offence would be made a priority offence under the Online Safety Act (OSA), meaning that services will need to take steps to prevent this content appearing online and swiftly remove it if it does. The OSA applies to any relevant service that is ‘linked to the UK’.