The Federal Court has ordered a man to pay a $343,500 fine for sharing deepfake pornographic images of prominent Australian women online.
It the first time someone has been fined specifically over the distribution of deepfakes in Australia.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the penalty “sends a strong message about the consequences for anyone who perpetrates deepfake image-based abuse.”
Context
In Australia, it is a criminal offence to distribute sexually explicit deepfake material without consent.
Deepfakes are realistic fabricated or manipulated videos and/or images. They are designed to mislead viewers and can be made using AI.
Under the Online Safety Act, the eSafety Commissioner can issue removal notices for intimate images posted online without consent, and seek fines for those who do not comply.
The case
The eSafety Commissioner issued Anthony (Antonio) Rotondo a removal notice for several explicit deepfakes depicting notable Australian women in 2023.
Rotondo had posted them on a site called MrDeepFakes.com, which has since been shut down.
In response to eSafety’s request, Rotondo said he was not an Australian resident, so “the removal notice means nothing”.
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Rotondo then refused to comply with additional notices and fines.
He travelled to Australia in October 2023 and was arrested on a separate matter.
While in custody, Rotondo admitted to making and sharing explicit deepfakes.
He told police: “I think it’s funny... Everyone should live in fear of deepfakes. Every woman on Earth should live in fear of a camera, live in fear of Facebook.”
The following month, Rotondo gave eSafety his login details to take the images down.
The court has suppressed the names of the women in the images to protect their privacy, but said they are well known.
One told the court she felt “violated, vulnerable and completely without agency.”
Ruling
In her ruling, Justice Erin Longbottom stressed the role of the large fine in deterring others who might consider sharing intimate content without consent.
“The penalty must be sufficient to send a message that contraventions of this kind are serious and not acceptable,” she said.
Inman Grant said the penalty reflects “the seriousness of the Online Safety Act breaches and the damaging impacts of the image-based abuse on the women targeted.”
