The EU has finally adopted new rules against gender-based violence, including on the non-consensual sharing of intimate or manipulated material, cyber stalking, cyber harassment, and cyber incitement to violence or hatred. The Digital Services Act (DSA) is already in place, imposing obligations on very large online platforms and very large online search engines in relation to gender-based violence. The AI Act foresees transparency requirements for ‘deep fakes’, a phenomenon that made Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission, tweet about her solidarity with Taylor Swift and all the victims of abusive and false intimate images, described as ‘despicable acts of digital violence’. In the meantime, however, online gender-based violence arguably as old as the Internet remains seemingly as insidious and serious as ever. This panel will investigate recent developments to assess their potential for effective change.
