Dawn Butler MP: It’s Time the Law Caught Up With AI

Dawn Butler is MP for Brent East and Chair of the London Parliamentary Labour Party

Artificial intelligence is advancing at extraordinary speed. It offers enormous opportunities, from medical breakthroughs to scientific discoveries that could transform our lives. But we cannot allow ourselves to be so caught up in the possibilities that we lose sight of the real risks. I am clear that as AI rapidly develops, protecting our digital rights must be our priority.

That is why I recently introduced my Artificial Intelligence (Consent and Misuse) Bill, which would establish a clear requirement for consent before someone’s likeness is generated using artificial intelligence. It is a straightforward principle: nobody should be able to take your face, replicate your voice or create a convincing digital version of you without your permission.

Our identity is not a free resource for others to exploit. Yet the law has not kept pace with the advancing technology that makes this exploitation possible. We know where this can lead.

Deepfakes can already be used to create convincing images, videos and audio of people. Someone could use your voice to make it sound like you have endorsed a product or made offensive remarks. Your face could be placed into an intimate image without your consent. The consequences for a person’s reputation, livelihood and mental wellbeing can be devastating.

This is not simply a question of technological misuse. It is about dignity, privacy and control over our own identities. And it raises a fundamental question: if someone can reproduce your face and voice with a few clicks, what meaningful protection do you have? Right now, not much.

My Bill would address this by establishing a consent requirement, providing for civil action where that requirement is breached, creating offences relating to the creation or dissemination of unauthorised likenesses, and placing duties on providers of AI technology to address its misuse by actors giving them commands that breach these rules.

It is designed to ensure that responsibility does not rest solely with the individual whose identity has been exploited. This is about ensuring responsible use of artificial intelligence and I’m urging the Government to adopt these proposals and work with me towards legally binding protections that keep pace with technological change.

I know that this is part of a much wider challenge. We must also confront the danger that AI will automate discrimination, embedding existing inequalities into systems that influence our lives.

I am concerned that AI systems can reproduce or amplify existing societal biases that affect people from minoritised backgrounds, women, disabled people and more. I am particularly concerned about the implications for policing, where bias and flawed algorithms risk reinforcing existing racial inequalities.

If discrimination is automated, it can become harder to identify, challenge and correct.

We must ask difficult questions about the data used to train these systems, where it comes from, whose experiences it represents and who is accountable when things go wrong. If the answers remain unclear, the people most likely to suffer are often those who already face discrimination.

The way facial recognition is used also raises serious questions about privacy and surveillance, particularly when people’s images are retained or used without proper justification. The fact that technology makes something possible does not mean that it should be permitted without limits.

Consent matters because people should have a say in how their identities and personal information are used. We need a framework that protects these rights while allowing innovation to flourish. Working together with the sector, London can be that leader in responsible, ethical and values-based AI.

That means transparency about how AI systems operate, implementing meaningful guardrails against discrimination, clear accountability when harm occurs, and effective remedies for those affected. It also means ensuring that people are alerted when AI has been used to create or manipulate content involving them – and have means to challenge it.

We are at a crossroads, and we must seize this opportunity to provide that leadership before it’s too late. Voluntary principles are not enough, they leave fundamental gaps in protection. I am clear that we cannot allow the industry to regulate itself, on its own terms. That has been tried before with other industries, and it simply does not work.

I have long argued that technological progress must go hand in hand with protecting people’s rights and freedoms. My Bill prioritises one essential principle: my likeness, my consent. This means clear, legally binding rules, backed by effective enforcement.

This is not about stopping AI or standing in the way of innovation. It is about seeing around corners and building public trust in a technology that will increasingly shape our lives. Responsible businesses should welcome clear rules, and people should be able to benefit from AI without fearing that their identity can be stolen or their rights disregarded.

The question is not whether AI will change our future. The question is whether we will shape that change in the public interest, or leave people exposed while the law struggles to catch up.

I’m asking the Government to adopt my Bill and introduce strong, enforceable protections. I’m proud to work alongside organisations that are also working hard in this space such as My Name, My Face, plus ControlAI, Equity, Demos and more. I hope readers will join me in calling for action by signing my declaration for responsible AI on my website and helping spread the word.

These challenges are not straightforward, and we have to get this right, but we cannot afford to wait until the harm becomes entrenched. With my Bill, we start that process now.

Our faces, our voices and our identities belong to us. The law must reflect that. The first rule of Government is to protect its citizens. Right now, we need protecting.