SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A man in Australia was fined over AU$340,000 (US$222,000) on Friday for sharing deepfake porn videos of high-profile women, Canberra’s internet regulator said, in the first suit of its kind in the country.
Anthony Rotondo, also known as Antonio Rotondo, admitted to posting the images in federal court, according to the office of eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, which brought the case against him.
He admitted to the offence and will pay a penalty of AU$343,500, they added.
The names of the victims have been suppressed under a court order to protect their privacy.
National broadcaster ABC quoted one of the victims as telling the court they had felt “violated, vulnerable and completely without agency”.
Rotondo posted the images to a deepfakes website that has since been shut down, the regulator said.
“This action sends a strong message about the consequences for anyone who perpetrates deepfake image-based abuse,” the eSafety Commissioner said, urging those who have experienced deepfake material to report it.
“eSafety remains deeply concerned by the non-consensual creation and sharing of explicit deepfake images, which can cause significant psychological and emotional distress,” the office added.
So-called “nudify” apps — artificial intelligence tools that digitally remove clothing without the victim’s consent — have exploded online.
Australia has been at the forefront of global efforts to curb internet harm, particularly content targeting children.
A ban on social media use by under-16s is set to come into effect in December.
But current legislation offers almost no details on how the ban will be enforced — prompting concern among experts that it will simply be a symbolic piece of unenforceable legislation.
The regulator has also introduced several rules taking effect in the coming months to protect children from “lawful but awful” content, including online pornography and AI chatbots capable of sexually explicit conversations.