Federal move to criminalize non-consensual sexual deepfakes is long overdue, experts say - The…
A Halifax man was acquitted for creating and distributing deepfake nudes of five women due to a gap in the Criminal Code, highlighting the urgent need for updated legislation.
- Incident date
- May 2026
- Target
- Five young women in Halifax
A bill to criminalize non-consensual sexual deepfakes is under consideration as a Halifax man was acquitted for using AI to create and distribute fake nudes. This case exposed a gap in the Criminal Code, which legal experts have long urged the government to address.
What happened
A man, identified as R.M.K., created deepfake nudes of five young women from Halifax using their fully clothed images collected from social media. He then circulated these doctored photos among the women. The court acknowledged the images as an “affront to their sexual integrity,” but the accused was acquitted because the existing law on sharing intimate images without consent did not cover fabricated explicit images. The Justice Minister referenced this case as an example of the gap in the Criminal Code, noting that the definition of intimate images does not include those created through AI.