A study by Berlin think tank Agora – Digitale Transformation identified AI-generated sexualized deepfakes of 147 politicians across 22 EU countries. Affected individuals include EU parliamentarian Lena Schilling and two members of the Austrian National Council.
Study author Benjamin Shultz found female politicians are 33 times more likely to be targeted than men. The content is hosted on U.S.-registered websites that function as gateways, providing personal data, physical ratings, and links to AI nudifier tools.
An EU-wide ban on nudifier applications takes effect December 2. While Schilling noted that copyright claims were most effective for removal, the Austrian Ministry of Justice is now evaluating new criminal laws to combat AI-generated sexualized content.