The President of the European Parliament said today that the institution will respond “with all means at its disposal” after about 60 MEPs have been victims of images generated by artificial intelligence on porn sites.
© Lusa
05/10/2026
by
Lusa
“Fi was informed that about 60 members of this house were targeted by ‘deepfakes’ [images, videos or audios generated by artificial intelligence] on porn sites that publish false and manipulated images, especially of women,” Roberta Metsola said at the beginning of the European Parliament (EP) plenary session in Strasbourg.
The president of the EP stressed that “the violence against women, both ‘offline’ and ‘online’ is unacceptable and deplorable” and ensured that the institution that leads will react with “all means within its reach”.
“ It's not just about images, however disturbing they are for all of us. It is an attempt to target and attack elected politicians who are doing their duty,” he denounced, ensuring that those behind these images “will fail” in their goals.
“ Instead of humiliating us, it'll make us stronger. Instead of silencing us, it'll make us talk even louder. Instead of scaring us, it will make us even more determined,” he said, in the face of the applause of MEPs in the Chamber.
Roberta Metsola considered that such situations cannot become the “new normal” and insisted that the EP will do “everything it can to prevent it”.
The President of the EP recalled that, as of 2 December, artificial intelligence systems that generate sexual images will be banned in the EU, but warned that “the law is not worth the role in which it is written if it is not applied”.
“ The Member States must therefore prepare themselves immediately. They must ensure that the ban is complied with, strengthen the application of the Digital Services Regulation and transpose the Directive on combating violence against women, which criminalises the public disclosure without consent of sexual ‘deepfakes’,” he appealed.
To Roberta Metsola, the EU owes this “to all the people who have been targeted by these attacks and to all the young people who are starting a political path and who wonder if there is room for them in politics and at what cost”.
“ Our answer must be clear: you belong here, your voice belongs here and we will be by your side”, he said, receiving applause from the chamber.