50 MEPs affected as Greens/EFA call for stronger protection against digital violence
New deepfake study
A new study by Agora Digitale Transformation provides the first systematic assessment of the extent to which female MEPs are affected by AI-generated sexualised violence. In addition to the 147 previously identified cases involving national parliamentarians, the study identifies a further 50 MEPs who have been affected, 46 of them women. This means that around one in six female MEPs has now been affected.
In a letter initiated by Greens/EFA Chair Terry Reintke and MEP Lena Schilling, and supported by the group leaders of the Social Democrats, Liberals and the Left, MEPs call on the European Commission and the Member States to take decisive action against sexualised AI deepfakes and to effectively enforce the ban on so-called “nudifier” apps from 2 December 2026.
MEP Terry Reintke, President of the Greens/EFA Group, comments:
“The scale of digital violence is shocking. Apparently, simply being a woman in public is enough to awaken the basest instincts. And these are only the cases we know about. The true scale is likely much greater. All alarm bells must be ringing. Effective protection against digital violence must finally be put in place and properly enforced.
“We call on members of all democratic parliamentary groups to support our demands. The Commission and Member States must now ensure that, from 2 December 2026, all so-called nudifier apps disappear. We must dismantle the business model behind digital violence. Tech companies must make it much easier and faster to remove non-consensual nude images and videos from their platforms.
“The burden must shift. It cannot be left to those affected to ensure that degrading images and videos are removed. Platforms must take responsibility and be held accountable.”
MEP Lena Schilling, Greens/EFA Member and among the affected, comments:
“Almost one in six women in the European Parliament has been affected by this form of digital violence. Without their knowledge or consent, AI-generated nude images are created and disseminated, or an ‘Undress Her’ button is being added to their photos. This is exactly what has happened to 50 Members of this Parliament, 46 of them women. I am one of them.
“The violence is old. The method is new. The aim is to humiliate, intimidate and silence women. I want to live in a world where women can enter politics, be visible and raise their voices without having to fear sexualised violence. What we accept today, our daughters may have to endure tomorrow.”
Targeted and Ignored: Sexualised deepfakes of Women MEPs and the Failure of Platform Responses
