Spain issues fine for AI-generated sexual images of minors

Spain's data protection agency on Thursday said it had fined a person for sharing AI-generated sexual images of minors using real faces, in what Spanish media said was the first case in Europe of a financial penalty for this type of content.

The watchdog opened an investigation in September 2023 after Spanish media reported the creation and circulation of the images in Almendralejo, a town of 30,000 people in the Spanish southwestern region of Extremadura.

The person breached the EU's data protection law by using the faces of real minors in the AI-generated images and then distributing them, the Spanish Data Protection Agency said in a statement.

"The offender is being punished for disseminating photographs manipulated with artificial intelligence that included the faces of real people," it said.

The fine of 2,000 euros ($2,332) was reduced to 1,200 euros after the person admitted responsibility and paid voluntarily, the agency said.