Women should not be told to remove their photos online to prevent AI-generated nude images

Women in Finland are increasingly being advised to delete their online photos to avoid becoming victims of AI-generated nude images, but the advice is deeply flawed, writes Johanna Vehkoo, a journalist with Yle’s verification team.

A recent Yle investigation revealed that a man in a small Finnish town is suspected of creating fake nude images of dozens of women he knew personally. The case highlights a growing epidemic of digital sexual violence, where women and girls—who make up 99% of victims—face long-term consequences from deepfake abuse.

Vehkoo, who has reviewed thousands of AI-generated nude images of Finnish women this year, warns that the problem is being dangerously downplayed. “Digital sexual violence is serious crime,” she states, comparing its impact on victims to that of physical assault. Author Laura Bates, in her 2025 book The New Age of Sexism, argues that AI-facilitated undressing and sexual coercion of women is an extension of male physical violence, with no clear divide between digital and real-world harm.

Critics often suggest women avoid posting photos online, but Vehkoo counters that this is neither practical nor fair. Many victims are personally known to their abusers, who may have access to private or archived images. Demanding women erase their digital presence—including professional photos—is “chilling and undemocratic,” she writes.

While some experts advise against sharing high-quality images, Vehkoo notes that even blurry, decades-old scans can be manipulated by undressing apps. The threat extends beyond social media: devices like Meta’s smart glasses, which can record discreetly, have already been used to harass women.

The solution, Vehkoo argues, lies in holding perpetrators—mostly men—accountable. She has engaged with men who create and share these images under pseudonyms and found little concern for victims’ privacy or well-being. Though some claim men’s images could also be targeted, data shows 99% of deepfake sexual abuse victims in 2023 were women or girls. Many undressing apps cannot even process male images.

An EU ban on such apps could shrink their commercial market, though it would not eliminate the problem entirely.