{"id":1837548,"date":"2026-03-20T16:36:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T13:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1837548"},"modified":"2026-03-20T16:36:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T13:36:48","slug":"how-deepfakes-threaten-women-and-democracies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1837548","title":{"rendered":"How deepfakes threaten women and democracies"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76454138_6.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5Ao4q<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
Collien Fernandes has been fighting against online deepfakes for years, a new law is aiming to help her struggleImage: Sascha Schuermann\/Panama Pictures\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig on Friday said the government was preparing a new law to criminalize pornographic deepfakes<\/a>, accelerating efforts to tackle digital violence against women.<\/p>\n

The move follows a complaint by actress Collien Fernandes, who has spoken out about deepfake pornography and filed a case alleging identity theft and sexualized digital abuse against her former husband.<\/p>\n

How is Germany planning to tackle\u00a0deepfake pornography?<\/h2>\n

Hubig’s ministry spokesman Eike Hosemann said a draft law is “practically finished” and will be presented “very soon,” aiming to close gaps in current legislation.<\/p>\n

“The aim is to make the production and distribution of such deepfakes a criminal offence”, with\u00a0Germany<\/a> “lagging behind technological developments in this area,” Hosemann said.<\/p>\n

Hubig herself said legislation would mean giving police more powers to search suspects’ devices.<\/p>\n

“We want to ensure that perpetrators can no longer feel safe, that they must expect to be identified and effectively prosecuted,” Hubig told the German broadcaster.<\/p>\n

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How deepfakes threaten women and democracies <\/h2>\n

How might the law\u00a0stop sexual deepfakes?<\/h2>\n

Under the legislation, creating and distributing such content should be explicitly punishable, the minister said, warning perpetrators that they must expect to be identified and prosecuted.<\/p>\n

The draft would also include civil measures to make it easier for victims to act against platforms<\/a>, including rights to obtain information on perpetrators and enforce account suspensions.<\/p>\n

Officials say enforcement remains complex due to international networks and rapidly evolving technologies.<\/p>\n

Politicians across parties have backed stronger protections, while advocacy groups warn Germany’s legal system is not yet equipped to deal with this form of violence.<\/p>\n

UN General Assembly President and former German Foreign Minister told the Funke Media Group that Germany has fallen behind other countries regarding online abuse.<\/p>\n

She said she has also experienced digital violence, as is the case for 60% of women and girls in Germany.<\/p>\n

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Stronger UK laws target sexualized deepfakes<\/h2>\n

What do we know about the Fernandes case?<\/h2>\n

Fernandes and her ex-husband, Christian Ulmen, were prominent TV personalities in Germany. They had been living together on the Spanish island of Mallorca until they separated in 2025.<\/p>\n

Fernandes discovered hundreds of fake pornographic images of her online, as well as social media accounts pretending to be her.<\/p>\n

She then began to suspect her then-husband of being behind the online abuse, as has been widely reported in German media.<\/p>\n

The German Women’s Council said the Fernandes case shows urgent need for reform, arguing the legal system is not yet equipped to handle this form of abuse.<\/p>\n

Fernandes has also made serious allegations against her ex-husband, actor Christian Ulmen, accusing him of creating and distributing AI-generated pornographic images of her. Ulmen denies the accusations.<\/p>\n

Edited by: Alex Berry<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig on Friday said the government was preparing a new law to criminalize pornographic deepfakes<\/a>, accelerating efforts to tackle digital violence against women.<\/p>\n

The move follows a complaint by actress Collien Fernandes, who has spoken out about deepfake pornography and filed a case alleging identity theft and sexualized digital abuse against her former husband.<\/p>\n

How is Germany planning to tackle\u00a0deepfake pornography?<\/h2>\n

Hubig’s ministry spokesman Eike Hosemann said a draft law is “practically finished” and will be presented “very soon,” aiming to close gaps in current legislation.<\/p>\n

“The aim is to make the production and distribution of such deepfakes a criminal offence”, with\u00a0Germany<\/a> “lagging behind technological developments in this area,” Hosemann said.<\/p>\n

Hubig herself said legislation would mean giving police more powers to search suspects’ devices.<\/p>\n

“We want to ensure that perpetrators can no longer feel safe, that they must expect to be identified and effectively prosecuted,” Hubig told the German broadcaster.<\/p>\n

\n

How deepfakes threaten women and democracies <\/h2>\n

How might the law\u00a0stop sexual deepfakes?<\/h2>\n

Under the legislation, creating and distributing such content should be explicitly punishable, the minister said, warning perpetrators that they must expect to be identified and prosecuted.<\/p>\n

The draft would also include civil measures to make it easier for victims to act against platforms<\/a>, including rights to obtain information on perpetrators and enforce account suspensions.<\/p>\n

Officials say enforcement remains complex due to international networks and rapidly evolving technologies.<\/p>\n

Politicians across parties have backed stronger protections, while advocacy groups warn Germany’s legal system is not yet equipped to deal with this form of violence.<\/p>\n

UN General Assembly President and former German Foreign Minister told the Funke Media Group that Germany has fallen behind other countries regarding online abuse.<\/p>\n

She said she has also experienced digital violence, as is the case for 60% of women and girls in Germany.<\/p>\n

\n

Stronger UK laws target sexualized deepfakes<\/h2>\n

What do we know about the Fernandes case?<\/h2>\n

Fernandes and her ex-husband, Christian Ulmen, were prominent TV personalities in Germany. They had been living together on the Spanish island of Mallorca until they separated in 2025.<\/p>\n

Fernandes discovered hundreds of fake pornographic images of her online, as well as social media accounts pretending to be her.<\/p>\n

She then began to suspect her then-husband of being behind the online abuse, as has been widely reported in German media.<\/p>\n

The German Women’s Council said the Fernandes case shows urgent need for reform, arguing the legal system is not yet equipped to handle this form of abuse.<\/p>\n

Fernandes has also made serious allegations against her ex-husband, actor Christian Ulmen, accusing him of creating and distributing AI-generated pornographic images of her. Ulmen denies the accusations.<\/p>\n

Edited by: Alex Berry<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig on Friday said the government was preparing a new law to criminalize pornographic deepfakes<\/a>, accelerating efforts to tackle digital violence against women.<\/p>\n

The move follows a complaint by actress Collien Fernandes, who has spoken out about deepfake pornography and filed a case alleging identity theft and sexualized digital abuse against her former husband.<\/p>\n

Hubig’s ministry spokesman Eike Hosemann said a draft law is “practically finished” and will be presented “very soon,” aiming to close gaps in current legislation.<\/p>\n

“The aim is to make the production and distribution of such deepfakes a criminal offence”, with\u00a0Germany<\/a> “lagging behind technological developments in this area,” Hosemann said.<\/p>\n

Hubig herself said legislation would mean giving police more powers to search suspects’ devices.<\/p>\n

“We want to ensure that perpetrators can no longer feel safe, that they must expect to be identified and effectively prosecuted,” Hubig told the German broadcaster.<\/p>\n

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video<\/a><\/p>\n

Under the legislation, creating and distributing such content should be explicitly punishable, the minister said, warning perpetrators that they must expect to be identified and prosecuted.<\/p>\n

The draft would also include civil measures to make it easier for victims to act against platforms<\/a>, including rights to obtain information on perpetrators and enforce account suspensions.<\/p>\n

Officials say enforcement remains complex due to international networks and rapidly evolving technologies.<\/p>\n

Politicians across parties have backed stronger protections, while advocacy groups warn Germany’s legal system is not yet equipped to deal with this form of violence.<\/p>\n

UN General Assembly President and former German Foreign Minister told the Funke Media Group that Germany has fallen behind other countries regarding online abuse.<\/p>\n

She said she has also experienced digital violence, as is the case for 60% of women and girls in Germany.<\/p>\n

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video<\/a><\/p>\n

Fernandes and her ex-husband, Christian Ulmen, were prominent TV personalities in Germany. They had been living together on the Spanish island of Mallorca until they separated in 2025.<\/p>\n

Fernandes discovered hundreds of fake pornographic images of her online, as well as social media accounts pretending to be her.<\/p>\n

She then began to suspect her then-husband of being behind the online abuse, as has been widely reported in German media.<\/p>\n

The German Women’s Council said the Fernandes case shows urgent need for reform, arguing the legal system is not yet equipped to handle this form of abuse.<\/p>\n

Fernandes has also made serious allegations against her ex-husband, actor Christian Ulmen, accusing him of creating and distributing AI-generated pornographic images of her. Ulmen denies the accusations.<\/p>\n

Edited by: Alex Berry<\/em><\/p>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76454138_6.jpg”] https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5Ao4q Collien Fernandes has been fighting against online deepfakes for years, a new law is aiming to help her struggleImage: Sascha Schuermann\/Panama Pictures\/picture alliance German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig on Friday said the government was preparing a new law to criminalize pornographic deepfakes, accelerating efforts to tackle digital violence against women. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,74],"class_list":["post-1837548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dw-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1837548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1837548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1837548\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1837548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1837548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1837548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}