First Deepfake Pornography Case in Australia

0:00Welcome to Adelaide News today. Two minutes of news that matter to Adelaide. A 19-year-old man from South Australia has made history as the first person charged under the country's new federal law targeting deep fake adult, pornography. William Hamish Yates, from the suburb of Netherby, faces eight counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent. Earlier this week, a court lifted a suppression order to reveal his identity, though he has not yet entered any pleas. Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to edit real people's faces or bodies into fake explicit images or videos. These tools, like easy-to-access nudify apps, have exploded in popularity, raising alarms among authorities about non-consensual abuse. Meanwhile, surveys show a stark reality. More than 14% of Australians aged 16 to 64 have had sexualized deepfakes made of. Them without permission, while 8% admitted to creating such content themselves. Women and girls bear the brunt, and children are increasingly targeted too.

1:03To fight back, the federal government wrote out the law in 2024, with penalties up to six years in jail for sharing non-consensual. Deepfakes and seven years for both creating and sharing them. This is the only case so far under that specific section nationwide. Experts and watchdogs like e-safety are pushing for more, including stricter platform rules, blocked harmful sites, and education on consent, and digital respect. They stress that while tech enables harm, people must take responsibility to prevent a set backward on online safety. This story is shared with support from our sponsor. Your bedtime ritual just got better. Built-in sound, built-in comfort, S-O-L-L-I, solelypillow.com.