Advocacy organizations advocating for women and children have emphasized the urgent need for the Canadian government to establish an online regulatory body in response to a surge of sexual deepfakes circulating on the social media platform X. Lloyd Richardson, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s technology director, stressed the necessity of regulatory measures to effectively tackle such issues as they arise.
Both Richardson and Rosel Kim from the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund called for the establishment of a new regulatory entity similar to the one previously proposed by the Liberal government in 2024. Kim suggested that an expert regulatory body equipped with enforcement powers could effectively combat technology-facilitated gender-based violence through legal remedies, direct support, research, and education.
The recent proliferation of sexual deepfakes on Elon Musk’s X platform, generated by the Grok chatbot, has incited global outrage primarily due to their targeting of women and, in some instances, children. While the technology enabling the creation of sexualized deepfakes is not novel, X made it easily accessible by permitting users to request image alterations directly on the platform. This feature has since been restricted to paying users.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the facilitation of deepfakes as “unthinkable behavior” and warned that Europe would take action if Silicon Valley failed to do so. Following suit, Malaysia and Indonesia announced plans to block access to Grok, with the U.K. considering a similar ban.
Despite international responses, Canada’s AI Minister Evan Solomon stated that Canada is not contemplating a ban. Musk praised Solomon’s stance on X and shared a post endorsing Canada’s decision, accompanied by a Canadian flag and heart emoji.
The Liberal government’s introduction of the Online Harms Act in 2024 aimed to address various online safety concerns, including the rapid removal of content that sexually exploits or re-victimizes individuals. Additionally, the legislation proposed the establishment of a digital safety commission to oversee enforcement and support for social media users. However, the bill did not pass before the 2025 election.
While a bill introduced recently seeks to criminalize sexual deepfakes, advocates argue that additional measures are necessary to effectively combat the issue. Discussions are ongoing within Canadian government departments and with allied nations to address the challenges posed by deepfake technology.
Women speaking out against deepfakes have faced increased targeting with more deceptive content, leading to self-censorship and limited participation in public discourse. This disproportionately affects women and gender-diverse individuals, prompting concerns over freedom of expression and online safety.
Legal expert Suzie Dunn highlighted the gendered nature of the issue, criticizing suggestions that women should refrain from sharing photos online as an inadequate solution. Dunn emphasized the importance of government attention to address these pressing concerns and emphasized the need for improved social support services in Canada to assist individuals facing online harms.