Jan. 6 (UPI) — The British government on Tuesday announced it will criminalize the creation and sharing of so-called deepfake content amid a proliferation of the sexually explicit images and videos online that generally target women and girls.

Deepfake content, according to the Britain-based Revenge Porn Helpline, is images, videos or audio recordings in which artificial intelligence is used to replace the likeness of one person with that of the other. This technology has been increasingly used in the creation of sexually explicit material.

In April, the Revenge Porn Hotline said it received nearly 19,000 reports of deepfake cases over 2023, representing a 106% increase compared to 2022.

To combat the surge, London said it will introduce a new offense to charge those who create and share sexually explicit deepfake content.

It will also create a new offense to bring prosecution against those who take intimate images without consent and the installation of equipment with intent to surreptitiously create such content. Those accused of committing such crimes could face up to two years in prison.

This pair of new offenses was seen as needed because while it is already an offense in Britain to share or threaten to share an intimate, it is only illegal to take an image without consent in certain circumstances, such as upskirting, the government said.

“These new offenses will help prevent people being victimized online. We are putting offenders on notice — they will face the full force of the law,” Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones said in a statement.

The government explained that the sexually explicit deepfakes offenses will apply to adult images as existing laws already address such crimes for those under the age of 18.

Campaigner Jess Davies described intimate-image abuse in Britain as a “national emergency” that is causing women and girls significant harm.

“Women should not have to accept sexual harassment and abuse as a normal part of their online lives, we need urgent action and legislation to better protect women and girls from the mammoth scale of misogyny they are experiencing online,” Davies said.