CARE has welcomed the first ever conviction for “cyber-flashing” in the UK and stressed that more action is needed to combat AI tech.

Nicholas Hawkes, 39, was convicted of the offence after sending unsolicited, sexually explicit photos to a 15-year-old girl and a woman.

Cyber-flashing was criminalised under the Online Safety Act, which introduced new measures to tackle harmful content.

Louise Davies MBE, Director of Advocacy and Policy at CARE, said:

“The first conviction for ‘cyber-flashing’ in the UK shows the good progress we have made towards tackling this grotesque behaviour. We hope that the new law will act as a strong deterrent to individuals who think sending unwanted sexual images is acceptable.

“Other measures in the Online Safety Act will protect children from exposure to pornographic content by requiring age verification. Social media companies will also be held to account for failing to remove content that is harmful to children and young people.

“Whilst all of this is welcome, there is more to be done to protect women and children. In particular, we must explicitly outlaw sinister deepfake technology that allows users to digitally undress women and children and have subjects feature in pornographic videos.

“No cogent argument can be put in favour of technology that creates sexualised images without a person’s consent. This technology is being used by paedophiles to avoid falling foul of current laws. We call on the government to act with urgency.”

Polling on AI porn tools

A ban on AI tools that allows users to digitally undress women and children is supported by almost 8 in 10 Brits, according to a poll commissioned by CARE.

Participants were asked if: 'Websites and apps that use AI to simulate sexually explicit content such as undressing women and children should be banned by the government.' Seven in ten respondents strongly agreed (69%). The number of respondents who strongly agreed rises to almost 8 in 10 (75%) discounting those who preferred not to answer.

Methodology Note: Whitestone Insight interviewed 1,203 GB adults online from 2nd-5th February 2024. Whitestone Insight is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full data tables can be accessed here: AI-Explicit-Imagery-Survey-Final.pdf (care.org.uk)

About CARE:

Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) is a social policy charity, bringing Christian insight to the policies and laws that affect our lives.

Contact us: press@care.org.uk