Accused of Creating or Sharing a Deepfake Nude in Singapore — What Should You Do?

Being investigated over a deepfake nude does not necessarily mean that the allegation concerns only the sharing of an image.

It can include the acts of creating an intimate deepfake, possessing or accessing it, distributing it, or threatening to distribute it.

This distinction has become particularly important following changes to Singapore’s laws concerning AI-generated intimate material.

If you have been contacted by the Police or asked to attend an interview, it is important to understand exactly what conduct is being investigated and what evidence may be relevant before giving your account.

What Offence Am I Being Investigated For?

One of the first questions is what conduct the Police are investigating.

Sections 377BD and 377BE of the Penal Code address different forms of conduct involving intimate images and recordings.

Creating the Image

Section 377BD now makes it an offence in specified circumstances to intentionally produce an intimate image or recording of another person without that person’s consent.

The provision can cover material produced by generating, altering or manipulating an image. The prosecution must still establish the legal requirements, including the required state of knowledge concerning the likelihood of humiliation, alarm or distress.

The offence carries imprisonment of up to two years, a fine, or both, with enhanced consequences where the depicted person is below 14 years old.

Possessing or Accessing the Image

Section 377BD also deals with possession of or gaining access to certain voyeuristic or intimate images.

Electronic possession can extend to circumstances where a person controls access to an electronic image, even without physically possessing a device containing it.

Access can also include viewing or displaying the image electronically or sending or transmitting it to oneself.

Whether an offence has been committed depends upon the particular statutory requirements, including what the person knew or had reason to believe about the image, consent and the likely effect upon the person depicted.

Distributing the Image

Section 377BE addresses the intentional or knowing distribution of an intimate image without the depicted person’s consent where the other statutory requirements are satisfied.

Distribution does not necessarily mean publicly posting an image online. The circumstances in which an image was sent or shared therefore need to be examined carefully.

Threatening to Distribute It

Threatening to distribute an intimate image can also constitute a separate offence.

Importantly, for this offence, the prosecution does not necessarily have to prove that the threatened image actually existed.

The offences concerning distribution and threatened distribution can carry imprisonment of up to five years, a fine, caning, or a combination of those punishments.

Read more: AI Image Abuse: Kevin Liew Featured in The Straits Times

Does It Matter That the Image Was AI-Generated?

Being AI-generated is not a defence.

Singapore’s definition of an intimate image expressly includes certain images or recordings that have been altered or generated to appear to depict a person in specific circumstances.

The law excludes generated or altered material where no reasonable person would believe that it depicts the person concerned.

The position became even clearer recently, when amendments specifically extended the definition to AI-generated material and introduced the offence concerning non-consensual production of intimate images.

The relevant question is therefore not simply: “Was the image real?“

The investigation may instead examine what was generated, whether it appeared to depict an identifiable person, whether there was consent, how it was created and what the accused knew or intended.

What If I Never Shared the Image?

This can be relevant — but it does not necessarily end the enquiry.

If an allegation concerns distribution, evidence that an image was never sent to another person may be important.

However, Singapore law now separately addresses the production of certain non-consensual intimate images. Possession of or access to intimate images can also constitute an offence where the statutory requirements are satisfied.

Accordingly, “I never posted it“ or “I never sent it to anyone“ should not automatically be treated as meaning that no offence could have occurred.

The precise allegation and evidence need to be considered.

What If I Received the Image from Someone Else?

Receiving an image does not automatically establish criminal liability.

The circumstances matter.

Relevant questions may include:

• Who sent the image?
• Did you request it?
• What did you know about how it was obtained or created?
• Did you know whether the person depicted had consented?
• Did you save or otherwise retain access to it?
• Did you send it to yourself?
• Did you forward it to anyone else?
• What did you do after receiving it?
Section 377BD contains specific requirements concerning a person’s knowledge or reason to believe particular matters.

The factual circumstances surrounding receipt, access and subsequent use of the image can therefore be important.

What If It Was Intended as a Joke?

Describing a deepfake as a joke, prank or private joke does not by itself absolve criminal liability.

The relevant statutory elements must be considered, including what was intentionally done, whether the depicted person consented and what the accused knew or had reason to believe about the likely consequences of the conduct.

Context can therefore matter, but saying “I was only joking“ is not, by itself, a legal answer to the allegation.

What If the Victim Consented?

Consent can be important.

However, it is necessary to establish what was actually consented to.

For example, consent to taking or possessing one photograph does not necessarily mean consent was given to:

• altering that photograph into an intimate image;
• generating a new intimate image;
• retaining or accessing particular material;
• sending it to another person; or
• publishing it online.
Section 377BE specifically refers to consent to the distribution when dealing with distribution and threatened distribution.

The surrounding communications may therefore become important evidence of what was and was not agreed.

What Should I Do Before a Police Interview?

If the Police have contacted you about an intimate image or deepfake allegation, avoid taking steps that could destroy or alter potentially relevant evidence.

In particular:

• Do not delete or edit relevant material.
• Preserve relevant WhatsApp, Telegram, social-media and other communications.
• Prepare an accurate chronology of what happened.
• Identify how the image was created or how you first received it.
• Record which applications, AI tools or platforms were involved.
• Identify who received the image and whether it was forwarded.
• Preserve communications that may be relevant to consent or the context in which the image was created or shared.
• Consider obtaining legal advice before giving a statement where appropriate.
Trying to “clean up” a phone, account or conversation after learning about an investigation can make it more difficult to establish accurately what occurred.

The better approach is to preserve the available material and obtain advice on its relevance.

How GJC Law Can Help You

Allegations involving deepfake nudes can raise difficult questions about production, possession, access, distribution, consent and intention.

GJC Law’s criminal defence lawyers can review the circumstances of the allegation, identify the potential offence being investigated and advise on the issues that may be relevant before a Police interview or statement.

Where appropriate, our lawyers can also advise on the investigation process, representations and the next steps if charges are subsequently brought.

If you have been contacted by the Police or are under investigation concerning an intimate image or deepfake, contact GJC Law to arrange a consultation and understand your legal position before taking further steps.