The Australian Federal election is Saturday May 3. This is an opportunity to make our key concerns known to almost 700 candidates wanting to secure your vote!

At Collective Shout we are non-partisan. But we do want to know if candidates - of whatever political stripe - care about the issues we do. And then cast our votes accordingly.

To assist you in casting your vote we have prepared five key questions for you to put to your candidates:

• Do you commit to supporting age verification to help protect children from p*rn and not allow the vested interests of the global p*rn industry to undermine the current trial?
• Do you support tighter regulations on Big Tech/social media platforms to hold them accountable for the harms they have caused, especially to young people?
• Do you support laws to stop the creation and dissemination of AI-enabled Deepfake Image Based Sexual Abuse and a global ban on nudifying and undressing apps? 
• Will you take action to tighten up Australia’s classification laws to stop explicit material including torture p*rn-themed graphic novels/comics to be in easy access of children including in public libraries?
• Will you support a new inquiry into advertising self regulation given frequent violation of the ad code of ethics and no penalties for non-compliance meaning more children are exposed to p*rnified depictions of women in public spaces? 

You can find all the background information you’ll need to make the case to your candidates here.

Submission to the Office of the High Commissioner, Human Rights Council

AI, "deepfakes" and sex dolls highlighted in our evidence to UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls

We were pleased to contribute to the Statutory Review of the Online Safety Act 2021 in June 2024. It was one of 10 submissions we made in a record breaking year in which we also achieved 34 victories!

We are excited to announce that members of the Collective Shout team will heading to Washington, DC next month for the 2024 Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Summit, hosted by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and Phase Alliance. The theme is “The Great Collision: Emerging Tech, Sexual Exploitation, and the Ongoing Pursuit of Dignity.”

Movement Director Melinda Tankard Reist and Campaigns Manager Caitlin Roper will be presenting.

Could Artificial Intelligence be the means of preventing sexual exploitation?

A BBC article reporting on new AI sex dolls in a German cyber brothel quoted the co-founder of an agency behind one of the first AI influencers who argued that AI could mitigate ethical concerns and prevent the sexual exploitation of individuals. 

On a thread on X (formerly Twitter), our Campaigns Manager Caitlin Roper responded to this claim.

Since 2019 we've been highlighting the harms of deepfake and nudifying apps and calling for their removal. 

Last week the Government finally announced a crackdown on the creation of deepfake p*rnography.

News.com reported "That included legislation to outlaw the creation and non-consensual distribution of deepfake – a portmanteau of ‘deep learning’ and ‘fake’ – porn, and the sharing of sexually-explicit material using technology such as artificial intelligence."

From the PM's announcement:

The Albanese Government will introduce legislation to ban the creation and non-consensual distribution of deepfake p*rnography. Digitally created and altered sexually explicit material is a damaging form of abuse against women and girls that can inflict deep harm on victims. The reforms will make clear that creating and sharing sexually explicit material without consent, using technology like artificial intelligence will be subject to serious criminal penalties.

Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) refers to images and videos where children are sexually abused and exploited. It is the photographic or video record of the rape, sexual abuse and torture of children and infants.

We’ve discovered AI-generated images of young children on Instagram we believe constitute illegal child sexual abuse material.

The images depict little boys in minimal clothing, some adorned with fetish gear, and their bodies oiled. When we reported the account to eSafety, we were told the content was not actionable given the lack of nudity and “non-sexualised posing”.

Identifying perpetrators and victims of AI abuse

From the increasing popularity of ‘deepnude’ apps that virtually undress women, to the creation of degrading and pornographic content of women (including Taylor Swift), we’re starting to get a glimpse of how AI can be used to sexually exploit and abuse women and children online.