Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice, Martin Kenny TD, has welcomed the passage of the Harassment and Harmful Communications Bill in the Dáil today with the inclusion of some amendments to prohibit “deep faking”.

Teachta Kenny said:

“We in Sinn Féin have been made fully aware of the distress and damage caused by the revealing of sexually explicit images or videos of posted on the internet, without a person’s prior consent.  

“The negative impact on a person’s life subjected to image-based abuse and online harassment cannot be understated and we recognise that it can have a long-term effect on a victim’s mental and physical well-being. 

“We now call on the Minister for Justice to ensure that gardaí are fully resourced and trained to deal with reporting of offences under this legislation and to ensure that victims are treated with the utmost care and professionalism when they come forward.

“Furthermore, the gardai should be resourced with the technology and powers to ensure the takedown of such material from the internet and to pursue with vigour those responsible for offences under this legislation.”