15 female MPs demand crackdown on deepfake porn

Fifteen female politicians from left- and right-wing parties are uniting to combat AI-generated online sexual abuse. According to the AD, as many as one on four female members of Tweede Kamer have been affected. Lawmakers, including Caroline van der Plas (BBB), Ingrid Coenradie (JA21), and Esther Ouwehand (PvdD), have had their faces used, without consent, in fake pornographic videos that were distributed and viewed online tens of thousands of times. To better protect themselves and other women and girls in the Netherlands, they are calling for three things.

Firstly, the women want a new hotline where women can report an offense and immediately file a police complaint. The women also want for the police to enforce the upcoming December 1 “undressing ban” with an iron fist from day one. Additionally, they want a nationwide awareness-raising campaign. “We must never normalize this,” the politicians said in a statement.

According to Coenradie, raising prevention through an awareness campaign might be the most important step. “Of course you have to come down hard on perpetrators. But above all, you have to make it very clear to young boys and girls that you should not do this. You would not want to be a victim yourself. Then do not make someone else a victim.”

Caroline van der Plas called this form of online abuse “disgusting.” “It feels like digital rape, and that is terrible,” she said. “You are simply sucked into the porn industry, and you do not want that.”

Suzanne Kröger from PRO also called the creation of such pornographic materials “terrible.” “Of me or of other colleagues and of a great many women. This really does something to you.”

Ingrid Coenradie said she mostly feels unsafe. “You wonder what is circulating and with whom it all ends up. Emotionally, it feels as if it is going around the entire world.”

“As female members of Parliament, we are very well supported when something is done to us,” said Queeny Rajkowski from the VVD. “We want that for every woman and every girl in the Netherlands."

Victims can also report offenses to Offlimits. “If you see something on the internet that is not OK, file a report.” Rajkowski said. “They work to get the material taken offline as quickly as possible.”