A coalition of sex and porn industry figures and advocates has released an open letter to EU regulators, calling for more sex-positive voices to be heard in discussions around AI regulation.
The Digital Intimacy Coalition comprises 50 organizations and individuals, including sextech conference organizers, porn production companies, pleasure activists and sex performance education companies.
The coalition wrote that there was a “critical gap in the ongoing discourse surrounding AI regulation”, and that AI development should foster “freedom and safety of sexual representation”. It raised the alarm over “censorship and stigmatization around sexual expression” in tech fields.
One objective of the coalition is for sex and porn industry figures to be involved in AI regulation discussions. Another is to increase awareness of the implications of censorship and consent issues with regard to AI. The coalition also wants the adult industry to generally be better represented in AI regulation talks, and for first-person experience from the industry to become core to such discussions.
“We envision a future where technology is harnessed to promote inclusivity, consent, and empowerment for all individuals, including sex workers and those involved in the adult content industry,” the coalition wrote in the open letter.
The letter came months after the European Commission launched the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), which is considered to be the world’s first comprehensive AI law. Adopted in March 2024, most of the AI Act will become fully implemented and enforced from August 2026. Those who breach the act will be able to be fined millions of euros.
The AI Act will force companies and other entities to do things such as ensure that the members of the public know if they are interacting with an AI bot, plus other AI labeling measures. Data, information and human oversight standards will have to be met for “high-risk” use of AI, in situations such as medical use. AI systems such as “social scoring” by governments or companies, that could threaten human rights, will be banned.
There is little in the wording of the AI Act that directly addresses AI porn and other adult content, and the Digital Intimacy Coalition is concerned that its views are overlooked. Many major generative AI systems, such as ChatGPT, are programmed to not produce sexual content, and major platforms such as those run by Meta have stringent anti-nudity and adult content rules.
Sex workers, and companies working in sextech or porn, can often find themselves banned or blocked from mainstream social media platforms or websites, due to adult content rules, even if they don’t post explicit content. There are concerns that if AI regulations are tough on adult content in the long-run, similar measures could see sex-positive workers and advocates facing issues such as these in AI use.
Core to the balancing act of safety and free expression is deepfake porn, which is often created using AI. Many countries and tech platforms are clamping down hard on deepfake porn, via criminalizing non-consensual deepfakes or removing deepfake porn from internet search results.
The Digital Intimacy Coalition acknowledged that comprehensive regulatory frameworks were needed to halt nefarious use of non-consensual deepfake technology, also known as AI-enabled intimate image abuse. However, the coalition added that it was wary of apparent rise in blanket censorship of adult content on many platforms.
“We are concerned about the rising trend of excessive censorship and stigmatization around sexual expression that suppresses discussions on sexuality, sex education, and sexual health. These actions silence diverse voices and marginalized communities that are already vulnerable, hindering the development of balanced AI policies,” the coalition wrote.
In the UK, sex-positive campaign group Not Your Porn, the End Violence Against Women Coalition, and Glamour Magazine, are among those involved in a campaign to urge the government to introduce a dedicated, comprehensive image-based abuse law.
Recently the UK government made creating non-consensual sexually explicit deepfake content illegal. Campaigners have said that the Labour Party, which took power since the nonconsensual deepfake law was brought in, has made promises that “barely scratch the surface of the realities of image-based abuse”.
The Digital Intimacy Coalition has said that there is a lack of awareness of how AI and tech regulation affects sex and sex-adjacent workers’ lives. The coalition wrote: “Instead of resorting to extremes, we must develop a framework that respects individual autonomy and fosters open, informed dialogue on sexual rights.”
Coalition members include porn producers and sites Ersties and Lustery, sexual performance education companies Beducated and Cheex, sex writer and activist Ana Ornelas, and Sxtech Conference.
The coalition has posted its open letter in full online, along with its list of members. Since the letter was released, the European Commission has said that it encourages adult industry representatives to take part in upcoming public consultations related to its AI regulation, and that the organization values “diverse perspectives”.
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