We are still fighting for better regulations

Thank you to everyone who has supported our fight for stronger protections against the exploitation of real people through AI.

AI has changed our lives. It can help us organise, support research and provide people around the world with quick access to information. There are genuinely exciting and beneficial uses for this technology.

But at what cost does some AI-generated content come?

One of my biggest concerns is the use of AI to create realistic images, videos and voices of real people without their consent.

I am not campaigning against the incredible potential of AI for research, education, organisation and creativity. I am campaigning for real people — particularly children — to be protected from having their identities and likenesses exploited.

Deepfakes are an especially serious concern.

AI can now make increasingly convincing content that appears to show a real person saying or doing something they never actually said or did. When this involves children, the ethical concerns become even greater because children cannot meaningfully consent to having their likeness used in this way.

We have seen AI-generated and deepfake content purporting to depict well-known people and members of royal families, including children such as Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Regardless of who the child is, using a real child's identity to generate inappropriate, suggestive or exploitative content should never be treated as harmless entertainment or a way of gaining views, money, attention or followers.

Children deserve stronger protections.

Adults deserve meaningful protections too. A person's face, voice and identity should not become raw material for someone else to make realistic content that could humiliate them, misrepresent them or falsely suggest that they said or did something.

And this shouldn't only matter when the victim is famous. Whether someone is a member of the Royal Family, a celebrity, politician, public figure or an ordinary member of the public, their identity deserves protection.

We need to protect real people and the integrity of real imagery.

The problem becomes even more serious when deepfakes involve politicians, public figures or other influential people. If viewers cannot easily distinguish genuine footage from an AI-generated imitation, false content can potentially damage reputations, spread misinformation and undermine people's ability to know what is real.

Labelling AI-generated content is important, but labels alone aren't enough. Some users fail to label their content properly, while others may repost AI-generated material without its original context. Even when something is labelled, viewers can still misunderstand what they are seeing.

That is why I believe we need stronger and clearer regulation of deepfake technology.

AI companies should build meaningful safeguards around generating realistic depictions of identifiable people, particularly children. Platforms hosting AI-generated content should also have effective systems for identifying deceptive or exploitative deepfakes, responding quickly to reports and protecting people whose identities have been misused.

There should also be a clear distinction between legitimate creative tools — such as editing your own photographs, filmmaking, fictional characters and other consensual uses — and creating deceptive or exploitative representations of real people without their permission.

This isn't about rejecting AI.

It's about making AI better.

We can champion the extraordinary things AI can contribute to research, education, accessibility, organisation and creativity while also demanding safeguards that protect human beings.

The same principle should apply when AI provides information in sensitive areas. For example, AI can help people understand general health information, but it should encourage people to seek appropriate professional medical advice when necessary rather than presenting itself as a replacement for a doctor.

Technology should serve people. People should not become products for technology.

We are also hoping Mr Burnham can help us raise this issue and support the push towards making harmful and non-consensual deepfakes of real people a thing of the past.

We want protections for everyone — famous or not.

Please keep sharing and supporting this campaign. Every share means another person may see it. Every conversation creates more awareness. And the more awareness we create, the greater the chance that decision-makers will listen.

We hope that growing public support will encourage the UK Government — and perhaps governments elsewhere, including the United States — to look seriously at what more can be done.

My team and I want to make a difference, but meaningful change takes people standing together.

We will continue calling out harmful and exploitative deepfakes while supporting the positive things AI can achieve.

We aren't fighting AI.

We're fighting for people to be protected as AI develops.

AI innovation and human protection do not have to be opposing goals.

We need both.

Please keep sharing. Please keep talking about it. And please help us make sure real people and real identities remain protected in an increasingly AI-generated world.