LONDON — The U.K. government will propose a ban on so-called “nudification” apps in its upcoming Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy amid pressure from campaigners to address deepfake-based sexual abuse, according to two people familiar with the plans.

Nudification apps use artificial intelligence technology to create fake nude images of people from images.  

There is already some nudification legislation in the works in the U.K. The Crime and Policing Bill due to enter committee stage in the Lords next week would make it an offense to either supply or use an app to create deepfaked nude images of children — but it stops short of banning nudification apps wholesale.  

Campaigners have long argued that the issue of nudification apps more broadly needs addressing.

The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee recommended in a report in March that both the creation and use of nudification apps should be criminalized. The government responded at the time saying it was “actively looking at options” — but said the complexity of the issue warranted “careful consideration.”  

The Children’s Commissioner has also called for a total ban, warning such tools disproportionately target girls and young women and contribute “to a culture of misogyny both online and offline” and that the creation of harmful content is “easier than ever” thanks to generative AI.  

The Tackling VAWG Strategy was due to be published by the summer but is now not expected until the new year, one of the people cited above — and granted anonymity to discuss sensitive discussions — said.

Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips blamed the delay on needing to make the strategy “as good as it can be.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are committed to tackling violence against women and girls in all of its forms. 

“We are going further than before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach to halve violence against women and girls. Our new VAWG strategy, which will be published as soon as possible, will set out the strategic direction and concrete actions to deliver on the government’s ambition to halve VAWG in a decade,” they added.