EU Lawmakers Approve AI Explicit Image Ban Proposal

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Influential European Union lawmakers approved a proposal on Wednesday to ban AI applications that generate unauthorized explicit images, marking a significant step toward strengthening the bloc's landmark AI Act amid growing concerns over nonconsensual deepfakes.

The measure, backed by key members of the European Parliament's civil liberties committee, targets so-called nudification apps that create sexualized content without consent. It builds on the AI Act, agreed upon two years ago, and comes after EU member states endorsed a similar initiative last week. The proposal now heads to a full parliamentary vote on March 26, followed by negotiations between lawmakers and governments to reconcile differences before implementation.

The push follows a global backlash against explicit content produced by AI systems, including sexually intimate deepfakes generated by Elon Musk's xAI chatbot Grok on the X platform. In January, X announced a zero-tolerance policy for such material involving children and women, introducing measures to curb the practice after widespread outrage. The European Commission, the EU's digital enforcer, launched an investigation into Grok under...