Online Safety and Other Legislation Amendment (My Face, My Rights)

1. The bill would create a new deepfakeRealistic but false audio, image or video of a person’s face or voice, created or altered using technology. The bill uses this term for both the online safety scheme and the Privacy Act court action. category in the Online Safety Act for realistic but false audio, images or video of an Australian person’s face or voice that were created or altered using technology. It would sit alongside, rather than replace, existing schemes for cyberbullying, adult cyber-abuse, intimate images and abhorrent violent content.

2. A person depicted in non-consensualFor the Online Safety Act changes, deepfake material is non-consensual if the depicted person has not consented, or if a parent or guardian has not consented for a child under 16. Consent must be express, voluntary and informed. deepfake materialRealistic but false audio, image or video of a person’s face or voice, created or altered using technology. The bill uses this term for both the online safety scheme and the Privacy Act court action. could complain to the eSafety CommissionerAustralia’s online safety regulator. The bill would give the Commissioner a specific complaints and removal-notice role for non-consensual deepfake material. once they are 16 or older. A parent, guardian or authorised person could complain for them, and a complaint seeking a platform removal noticeA written notice requiring a service provider, end-user or hosting provider to remove deepfake material or stop hosting it, usually within 24 hours. would generally need evidence that the platform had already received a complaint.

3. An Australian resident end-user who knowingly posts non-consensualFor the Online Safety Act changes, deepfake material is non-consensual if the depicted person has not consented, or if a parent or guardian has not consented for a child under 16. Consent must be express, voluntary and informed. deepfake materialRealistic but false audio, image or video of a person’s face or voice, created or altered using technology. The bill uses this term for both the online safety scheme and the Privacy Act court action. online, where no exemption applies, could face a civil penaltyA financial penalty imposed through civil enforcement rather than a criminal conviction. The bill sets 500 penalty units for several deepfake-related contraventions. of 500 penalty units. The eSafety CommissionerAustralia’s online safety regulator. The bill would give the Commissioner a specific complaints and removal-notice role for non-consensual deepfake material. could also issue a formal warning or remedial direction.

4. The eSafety CommissionerAustralia’s online safety regulator. The bill would give the Commissioner a specific complaints and removal-notice role for non-consensual deepfake material. could require a social media service, relevant electronic serviceAn online communications service category used in the Online Safety Act. The bill applies its deepfake removal powers to social media services, relevant electronic services and designated internet services., designated internet serviceAn internet service category used in the Online Safety Act. The bill includes it in the services that can be covered by deepfake complaints and removal notices., end-user or hosting provider to remove or stop hosting non-consensualFor the Online Safety Act changes, deepfake material is non-consensual if the depicted person has not consented, or if a parent or guardian has not consented for a child under 16. Consent must be express, voluntary and informed. deepfake materialRealistic but false audio, image or video of a person’s face or voice, created or altered using technology. The bill uses this term for both the online safety scheme and the Privacy Act court action., usually within 24 hours. For service providers and hosting providers, the bill uses a 48-hour prior complaint step before the CommissionerAustralia’s online safety regulator. The bill would give the Commissioner a specific complaints and removal-notice role for non-consensual deepfake material. can issue that removal noticeA written notice requiring a service provider, end-user or hosting provider to remove deepfake material or stop hosting it, usually within 24 hours..

5. The bill would also amend the Privacy Act to create a new civil action for wrongful use or disclosure of deepfake materialRealistic but false audio, image or video of a person’s face or voice, created or altered using technology. The bill uses this term for both the online safety scheme and the Privacy Act court action.. A person could sue if they were depicted, the defendant used or disclosed the material knowing or being reckless that technology was involved, consent was absent, and the plaintiff suffered detriment or the defendant profited.

6. That court action would be available without proving financial damage. Courts could award damages for emotional distress, grant injunctions, order apologies or corrections, require material to be destroyed or handed over, and order an account of profitsA remedy requiring a defendant to give up profits made from wrongful conduct..

7. The bill includes safeguards and exemptions. The online safety removal scheme would exempt uses such as law enforcement, court or tribunal proceedings, genuine medical or scientific purposes, and CommissionerAustralia’s online safety regulator. The bill would give the Commissioner a specific complaints and removal-notice role for non-consensual deepfake material.-related protected-person activity. The Privacy Act action would also include defences and exemptions for lawful authority, some defamation-style defences, journalistic material, agencies acting in good faith, law enforcement, intelligence agencies and people under 18.

No recorded votes have been found yet for this bill.