If someone has created a deepfake video or audio recording of you saying or doing things you never did, you have both criminal and civil legal options in Australia.
Deepfakes are synthetic media created using artificial intelligence, and as deepfake technology advances, they present novel legal challenges that existing legislation, including defamation law, harassment, and image-based abuse laws, are increasingly being applied to address. The Australian Government is also actively developing dedicated frameworks to close gaps in existing laws that were not designed with deepfake material in mind.
This fact sheet explains what deepfakes are, your rights under Australian law, and the remedies available to you.
Key Takeaways
- You may have a defamation claim if a deepfake lowers your reputation in the eyes of a reasonable person.
- NSW’s Intimate Images Act 2023 provides criminal protection where the deepfake contains intimate audio content or visual material distributed without consent.
- You can seek an urgent interlocutory injunction to halt distribution, often within days, before widespread reputational harm occurs.
- Deepfakes involving fraud or impersonation for financial gain may constitute criminal identity fraud.
- Expert forensic evidence is required to prove a video or audio recording is synthetic.
- Even anonymous creators can be pursued. Courts can order platforms to identify them through discovery.
- Act immediately: the longer deepfake content circulates, the greater the harm caused and the harder it becomes to contain.
- Early legal advice is critical. Contact a solicitor before approaching platforms or police where possible.
Contact O’Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors Immediately If:
Do not delay. Call O’Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors on 02 9261 4281 immediately. |
What Are Deepfakes? Understanding Deepfake Technology
Deepfakes are extremely realistic synthetic audio content or video created using artificial intelligence, most commonly generative adversarial networks (GANs) or machine learning models.
They can depict a real person saying words they never spoke, show them performing actions they never performed, manipulate their image into compromising or false depictions of situations that never occurred, or mimic their voice, making false statements. Digitally altered images fall within the same category as those used to create a false depiction of a person’s conduct or character.
What makes deepfakes particularly dangerous is that they are extremely realistic and often difficult to distinguish from genuine recordings, making them highly effective tools for causing reputational harm, harassment, and fraud.
Misinformation spread through deepfake material poses serious risks not only to individual victims but to democracy and public interest discourse, a concern driving legislative action across Australia, the European Union, and other jurisdictions.
Criminal Remedies Available in Australia
Australian law provides several criminal offences that may apply to malicious deepfakes, depending on the content and intent behind their creation.
Criminal defamation exists under the Defamation Act 2005, though it is rarely prosecuted. Where a deepfake depicts you engaged in false conduct published to a third party, it could in principle constitute criminal defamation depending on the gravity of the publication and the publisher’s intent.
Identity fraud is applicable where a deepfake is used to impersonate you, for example, in financial transactions or to deceive others into believing you made statements you did not make. This may constitute fraud under relevant Commonwealth and state legislation.
NSW’s Intimate Images Act 2023 makes it a criminal offence to non-consensually distribute intimate images, and certain deepfakes depicting sexual content may fall squarely within this protection. This is one of the most powerful and rapidly enforced criminal tools currently available.
Stalking and harassment laws across Australian states and territories may also apply where a deepfake is created and distributed to intimidate, humiliate, or cause fear to the person depicted.
Australia is also actively considering dedicated deepfake legislation, drawing on models introduced in the United Kingdom and proposed in the United States, particularly targeting deepfakes used for political manipulation, sexual abuse, or fraud.
Civil Remedies
In civil law, you have several powerful options available, and these can often be pursued simultaneously with criminal complaints.
A defamation claim is available where the deepfake contains false imputations about you that would lower your reputation in the eyes of a reasonable person. The creator must have published the deepfake to a third party, and the publication must carry a defamatory meaning. Importantly, you do not need to prove the creator intended to defame you. Defamation is a strict liability tort in most circumstances under Australian law.
An urgent interlocutory injunction can be sought to prevent further distribution or require removal of the deepfake from platforms. Injunctions can be granted within days and are particularly valuable because they act before widespread reputational harm occurs, rather than compensating you after the fact.
Privacy and copyright claims may also be available depending on the circumstances. Under the Copyright Act, if your image, voice, or performance characteristics were used without authorisation in the creation of the synthetic media, copyright infringement arguments may support your claim. If the deepfake uses your likeness without consent and causes harm, state-based privacy protections may also be engaged.
Damages for psychological harm, reputational injury, economic loss, and in serious cases, aggravated or punitive damages, are available if you succeed in a civil claim.
Authenticating Deepfakes As Evidence
A critical challenge in deepfake defamation is proving that a video or audio recording is synthetic rather than genuine. Courts require reliable evidence, and the standard forensic approach involves several elements.
Forensic analysis by a qualified expert can identify hallmarks of synthetic media, including unnatural eye movements, lip-sync anomalies, audio inconsistencies, and artefacts introduced by AI generation tools. Metadata associated with the deepfake, where it was downloaded, when it was created, and how it was shared, can provide critical evidence about its origins and chain of custody.
Your own evidence is also important: testimony that you were elsewhere at the time depicted, that the statements were never made by you, and that the depicted context is entirely fabricated all assist in establishing the deepfake’s falsity. Expert testimony explaining how deepfakes are generated and what indicators distinguish synthetic from genuine media will typically be required at any contested hearing.
Platform Removal and Takedown
Most major social media platforms, including Meta, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube, maintain policies prohibiting deepfakes, particularly those depicting non-consensual intimate content, deceptive conduct intended to mislead about significant news events or political communication, or content that facilitates harm or harassment.
You should report the deepfake to the platform’s moderation team, request a formal takedown through the platform’s complaint processes, and provide clear evidence of harm caused to support expedited removal.
#You can also request that the platform apply hash-matching technology to prevent re-upload of the same content once removed. The eSafety Commissioner also provides a complaints mechanism for victims where platforms fail to act, and the Commissioner has the ability to compel removal in certain circumstances under existing legislation.
Platform takedown processes have limitations. Response times vary, policies differ across jurisdictions, and platforms may not act quickly enough to prevent significant spread. Where platform processes are too slow, a court-ordered injunction remains the most effective remedy.
Injunctions for Urgent Removal
If a platform is slow to remove a deepfake or the creator continues distributing it, you can seek an urgent injunction from a court. Courts can order the prevention of further distribution, mandatory removal from platforms, and a requirement that the creator cease producing similar content.
Injunctions are particularly effective in deepfake cases because they are urgent and preventative. Emergency orders can often be obtained within days, and they are enforceable across multiple platforms and jurisdictions. Acting quickly to seek an injunction before the deepfake spreads widely is the single most impactful step you can take to limit the harm caused.
Damages in Deepfake Defamation
If you succeed in a defamation or civil claim arising from a deepfake, several categories of damages may be available to you.
General damages compensate for harm to reputation, humiliation, and emotional distress. Economic loss damages are available where the deepfake caused measurable financial harm, such as loss of employment, contracts, or business opportunities, including in commerce where your performance characteristics or professional image were misused.
Aggravated damages may be awarded where the creator’s conduct was particularly malicious, reckless, or where they refused to remove the content after being put on notice. Punitive damages, though rarely awarded in Australian courts, may be available in cases of extreme misconduct.
Emerging Deepfake Legislation in Australia
Australia is actively developing dedicated legal frameworks to address deepfakes. The federal government has signalled its intention to introduce a bill specifically targeting malicious deepfakes used for fraud, sexual abuse, and political manipulation, with concerns about their impact on democracy and public interest discourse central to that push.
The United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act provides a useful model, requiring platforms to remove deepfakes depicting real people in sexual contexts without consent. The European Union has also moved ahead with binding obligations on platforms under the Digital Services Act and AI Act.
Similar biometric rights frameworks, protecting individuals’ right to control use of their image and voice, are under consideration at both federal and state level in Australia. Commentary in publications such as the Communications Law Bulletin has examined the tension between regulating deepfakes online and preserving the benefits of AI for legitimate use.
These legislative developments are significant because they will provide clearer criminal pathways and enforcement mechanisms that currently require reliance on existing defamation, fraud, and harassment laws. In the interim, the civil remedies outlined in this fact sheet remain your primary tools..
Contact A Deepfake AI Abuse Lawyer In NSW
If a deepfake of you has been created or distributed, contact O’Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors immediately on 02 9261 4281 or complete the enquiry form on our website. In this fast-moving situation, speed is critical.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I prove a video is a deepfake?
You need a combination of expert forensic analysis and your own evidence. A forensic video or audio specialist can identify technical markers of synthetic media, including pixel-level artefacts, unnatural facial movements, and audio processing inconsistencies. Combined with testimony that you were not present or did not make the relevant statements, this evidence forms the basis of your case. Courts are increasingly familiar with deepfake technology, and qualified experts are available in Australia for this purpose.
Can I report a deepfake to the police?
Yes. If the deepfake involves fraud, harassment, impersonation, or intimate content without consent, police may investigate. Deepfakes are a relatively new area for law enforcement in Australia, and responses and expertise vary significantly by jurisdiction and the seriousness of the matter.
Engaging a solicitor before approaching police is advisable so that your complaint is properly framed and the most appropriate offence provisions under existing legislation are identified from the outset.
How quickly can I get a platform to remove it?
Platforms typically respond to deepfake reports within 24 to 48 hours where you provide clear evidence of the violation and identify the specific policy breached. Legal injunctions can operate faster in urgent cases, with emergency orders obtainable within days.
The sooner you act, both through the platform and through the courts if necessary, the greater your chances of containing the spread before significant harm occurs.
Can I sue the creator if I don’t know who they are?
Yes. You can commence proceedings against an anonymous defendant and seek a court order requiring the platform, internet service provider, or other intermediary to disclose identifying information through a discovery process.
This approach adds cost and time, but it is viable and courts have made such orders in defamation and harassment cases involving anonymous online publishers. Your solicitor can advise on whether the likely recovery justifies the cost of identification proceedings.
Can statements made in a deepfake be used against me?
No. A deepfake is by definition a fabrication, and its contents carry no evidential weight against you. The risk is reputational rather than legal: people who see the deepfake before it is proven false may form views about you based on the fabricated content.
This is precisely why speed of response is critical. Obtaining an injunction and a published correction or takedown before the deepfake reaches a wide audience significantly limits the reputational damage.
If a deepfake of you has been created or distributed, contact O’Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors immediately on 02 9261 4281 or complete the enquiry form on our website. In this fast-moving situation, speed is critical.
