Nation-leading anti-deepfake laws come into effect in South Australia

Hefty new penalties have come into effect in South Australia targeting those who create or disseminate damaging and explicit deep fakes online.

The nation-leading laws aim to protect the state's residents from the potential harms associated with rapidly evolving artificial intelligence technology.

The legislation specifically addresses the use of AI to generate invasive, humiliating, or degrading images that resemble real people. 

People found guilty of creating or disseminating such content face penalties of up to $20,000 or a four-year prison sentence. 

The court may also order the confiscation of equipment used in the creation of the offending material.

"Deep fakes are somewhere over ninety per cent non-consensual pornography, with the victims being 99 per cent women and girls," Attorney-General Kyam Maher said.

In addition to the penalties for creators and distributors, the legislation also includes provisions for educational initiatives. The curriculum will be continuously adjusted to educate students about both the beneficial and detrimental aspects of AI technology.

"It is incumbent on us as people who run the education and are preparing these young people for the world of work that they are going to enter that they have a really strong understanding of how to use that technology in a productive way," Education Minister Blair Boyer said.

Explicit deepfakes have surged in recent years, up 550 per cent since 2019. 

In response, schools are now teaching lessons on image analysis to help students distinguish between authentic and manipulated content.

"We are coming further into AI being far more prevalent than it ever has been and we can't back away from it," one year 11 student said.

"We need to equip students with the skills to be able to tackle it not tell them to be fearful of it.".

While the laws came into effect today, the legislation also applies retroactively. 

Individuals who disseminate images created before today's date may still face penalties under the new regulations.