Advocacy groups advocating for women and children are emphasizing the urgency for the Canadian government to establish an online regulator due to a surge in sexual deepfakes circulating on the social media network X. Lloyd Richardson, the director of technology at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, stressed the necessity for regulatory measures to effectively combat such issues. Similarly, Rosel Kim, a senior staff lawyer at the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, echoed the call for a regulatory body akin to the one previously proposed by the Liberal government in 2024.
The recent proliferation of sexual deepfakes on Elon Musk’s platform X, predominantly targeting women and, in some instances, children, has sparked global outrage. While the technology enabling the creation of sexualized deepfakes is not new, X’s feature allowing users to directly manipulate images using the Grok chatbot has facilitated their widespread dissemination. Following backlash, this feature has been restricted to paid users.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the enabling of deepfakes as “unthinkable behavior” and warned of potential regulatory actions if necessary. Malaysia and Indonesia have already announced plans to block access to Grok, with a similar ban under consideration in the U.K. In contrast, AI Minister Evan Solomon stated that Canada is not currently contemplating a ban, a stance that garnered approval from Musk on X.
The Liberal government had introduced the Online Harms Act in 2024, which included provisions for swift content removal in cases of sexual victimization, the establishment of a digital safety commission, and the appointment of an ombudsperson to support social media users. Although the bill did not pass before the 2025 election, a recent government bill aims to criminalize sexual deepfakes, though advocates argue that this measure alone may not suffice.
Women and gender-diverse individuals disproportionately bear the brunt of deepfake exploitation, leading to self-censorship and limited participation in public discourse. The lack of specific avenues for seeking help in Canada underscores the need for comprehensive legislative and social support frameworks to address online harms effectively.
Various countries, including the EU, the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia, have enacted online safety legislation and established resources like helplines to aid individuals facing cyber abuse. In contrast, Canada faces significant gaps both in legislative measures and accessible support services for those impacted by online harms.