Sexual deepfakes on X show need for online regulator, advocates say

OTTAWA — Advocacy groups for women and children say a wave of sexual deepfakes on the social media platform X proves the government needs to create an online regulator.

“This highlights the need for regulation within Canada in this space and we need to move on that so that we’re able to appropriately address this type of issue when it comes up,” said Lloyd Richardson, director of technology at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

Both Richardson and Rosel Kim, senior staff lawyer at the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, called for a new regulatory body that would function like the one the Liberal government proposed in 2024.

Kim said an expert regulator with regulatory and enforcement powers could address technology-facilitated gender-based violence by providing legal remedies, direct support, research and education.

In recent weeks, the proliferation of sexual deepfakes on Elon Musk’s platform X, created by his chatbot Grok, has triggered a global backlash. The deepfakes have mostly been targeted at women — and in some cases children.

While the technology to make sexualized deepfakes is not new, X made it easily accessible by allowing users to ask Grok to edit images directly on the platform. That feature has now been restricted to paid users.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said enabling the deepfakes was “unthinkable behaviour” and cautioned that if Silicon Valley won’t act, Europe will, Politico reported Monday.

Malaysia and Indonesia said over the weekend they would block access to Grok and a ban is also a possibility in the U.K.

AI Minister Evan Solomon said Sunday that Canada is not considering a ban. Solomon’s decision drew praise from Musk on X, who shared a post about the announcement and added a Canadian flag and a heart emoji.

The Liberal government introduced the Online Harms Act in 2024. Among other measures, the legislation would have imposed a 24-hour takedown provision for content that sexually victimizes a child or revictimizes a survivor, and for intimate content shared without consent, including deepfakes.

It also would have created a digital safety commission to administer and enforce the legislation, and tasked an ombudsperson with supporting social media users. The bill did not become law before the 2025 election was called.

A spokesperson for Culture Minister Marc Miller did not answer directly when asked whether the government plans to bring that legislation back.

“While artificial intelligence offers immense opportunities, it also presents real challenges. That’s why our government is focused on establishing a strong, system-wide framework for AI safety and governance, and is committed to acting swiftly to better protect Canadians, especially children, from online harm,” Hermine Landry said in a statement.

A government bill introduced late last year would criminalize sexual deepfakes, but advocates say that won’t be enough to address the issue. A spokesperson for Solomon said Sunday discussions are being held “with allied governments and across Canadian government departments.”

Kim said women who have spoken out about this issue have found themselves targeted with more deepfakes. Women and gender-diverse people are disproportionally affected and this is leading them to silence themselves, she said.

“It’s really impacting their freedom of expression and their ability to participate in public life because it seems that the only really effective solution is to make your account private,” she said.

Suzie Dunn, an assistant professor of law at Dalhousie University, said she’s heard some argue that women simply shouldn’t post photos online.

“Because this is such a clearly gendered issue, they’re basically telling women to shut up and sit down. And I think that that’s a really serious issue that governments need to pay significant attention to,” she said.

Dunn said jurisdictions with online safety legislation in place include the EU, the U.K., New Zealand and Australia. Some, such as France and the U.K., have helplines for people who are experiencing cyber abuse.

“Here in Canada, when people experience these types of harms, there’s not a lot of specific areas where someone can pick up the phone and get help,” she said.

“Canada has a major legislative gap but it also has a major gap when it comes to social services that people can access to get appropriate supports.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2026.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press