Federal justice minister calls alleged deepfake porn crimes ‘heinous’ - Nunatsiaq News

Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser has publicly condemned the alleged crimes of 60-year-old Stephen Lowe, who faces 79 charges related to the online exploitation and harassment of dozens of victims. The case, which spans a five-year period from 2020 to 2025, has prompted the government to accelerate Bill C-16, legislation aimed at criminalizing the production of non-consensual deepfake pornography.

What happened

Stephen Lowe, a Nova Scotia man with previous ties to Nunavut, is accused of creating non-consensual deepfake imagery by transposing victims' pictures onto the bodies of pornographic actors. According to the Ottawa Police Service, investigators have identified 25 alleged victims in Ottawa, while approximately 10 additional individuals in Nunavut have contacted the RCMP regarding similar experiences. While Lowe has been charged with 79 offenses in relation to the Ottawa investigation, no charges have been laid yet concerning the Nunavut allegations.

The government's push to finalize Bill C-16 is partially a response to the scope of Lowe’s case. Minister Fraser noted that while non-consensual deepfake production has been an issue for years, the rapid proliferation of the underlying technology has necessitated a more urgent legislative response. The bill, introduced by the Liberal government in December, seeks to provide legal recourse and protection against the production of such content, which the Justice Minister described as a heinous form of exploitation that fundamentally alters the day-to-day lives of those targeted.