Deepfake victim calls for AI regulation after explicit images

A UK woman whose modeling photographs were manipulated into sexually explicit deepfake images is calling for stronger artificial intelligence regulation, warning that current safeguards are inadequate.

Georgia Horton discovered that someone she considered a friend — former college classmate Ethan Orchard from Southsea — had taken images from her social media accounts and used AI to create pornographic content without her consent. Orchard was sentenced to three years and four months in prison in July after creating and sharing fake explicit images of Horton and two other women, according to the BBC.

Beyond creating the images, Orchard posted violent and sexually explicit fantasies about the women online and solicited similar content from other men. "One of the posts was, 'What would you do if you had five minutes alone with her?' And it got so much worse from there," Horton told the BBC. "The worst one I saw was, 'Would you save her? Would you rape her? Or would you sell her?'."

Why it matters

Horton's case exposes a critical gap between new legislation and enforcement capabilities. While the UK introduced criminal penalties for creating non-consensual deepfakes earlier this year, victims argue the law addresses symptoms rather than root causes. With AI image generation tools becoming more accessible and easier to use, the technical infrastructure enabling abuse remains largely unregulated — a pattern that could accelerate as generative AI capabilities spread beyond major tech platforms.

New law falls short, victim says

The UK introduced legislation earlier this year making it a criminal offense to create sexually explicit deepfake images without consent, building on existing laws covering non-consensual intimate images. But Horton argues the legislation doesn't address the underlying problem.

"When I heard the law had been introduced, I was so relieved," she said. "But it's now come to a standstill. The technology to make these images and videos is still out there and still widely available."

She emphasized that existing safeguards are easily circumvented: "The big tech companies say they're tightening safeguards but you can still get around them with just a few changes to the prompts. Self-regulation isn't working. It's also becoming much easier for people to create their own AI models and those are completely unregulated."

Broader child safety concerns

During the investigation, police uncovered what they described as a "truly horrifying" website containing more than one million child sexual abuse images. The discovery prompted Horton to urge parents to reconsider sharing children's photos online.

"Photos of children being posted online should be banned," she said. "There are so many predators out there and you really don't know who is seeing those pictures. It only takes one photo to be put through AI and limitless images can be created."

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said it is taking the issue seriously. A government spokesperson stated that platforms must remove non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours of a report and that company executives can be held personally liable for failing to comply with regulatory decisions on intimate image abuse.

Horton said she is speaking publicly to raise awareness of what she calls the "darker side" of artificial intelligence. "Everyone seems to be so pro-AI, thinking it's just a bit of fun on a computer screen," she said. "But it's dangerous."

These details were first reported by the BBC.