Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to safeguard individuals in response to rapid developments in artificial intelligence, including protecting 1) the general public and 2) Members of Parliament from deepfakes, digital impersonation, and the misuse of personal identity.

The Government takes the threat posed by harmful deepfakes, including to MPs, very seriously. Deepfakes are captured by the Online Safety Act where they are shared on an in-scope service and constitute illegal content or content harmful to children.

Sharing a deepfake intimate image without consent is a criminal offence under the Act. Government has also legislated to criminalise the non-consensual creation of sexually explicit deepfake images.

The AI Security Institute (AISI) works to build an evidence base on the potential risks advanced AI systems could pose, to inform government decision making and help make AI more secure and reliable.