The situation
It’s giving nightmare fuel. Lena Schilling, an Austrian MEP for the Green party, recently discovered that someone had taken photos from her very first press conference and used AI to digitally strip her. Real talk: it’s disgusting, and she’s not the only one.
The scope of the issue
New data from the Berlin-based thinktank Agora Digitale Transformation (ADT) found that about one in six female MEPs have been targeted by sexualized, AI-generated content. If you’re looking for a stat that highlights the gendered gap in harassment, here it is: women in European politics are 33 times more likely than their male colleagues to end up in these deepfake traps.
Schilling is calling this "digital violence against women," and she’s lowkey worried about what this does to the future of democracy. When public life becomes this hostile, it’s going to scare talented women away from running for office entirely.
The push for policy
Schilling and German Green MEP Terry Reintke have teamed up, gathering signatures from 119 other MEPs to demand that the EU actually follow through on its promises. A ban on "nudify" apps and sites is supposed to hit the books on December 2, but the group is warning that a ban on paper is useless without real enforcement mechanisms to shut these companies down.
They want to make sure national authorities are closing every loophole so these apps can’t just pivot and keep operating.
Why it matters
This isn't just about individual harassment; it's a systemic attempt to humiliate and control women in the public eye. Schilling’s message to other victims is that there’s no shame in this—the fault lies entirely with those misusing the tech. If the EU doesn't make these tools disappear, the vibes for future female politicians are going to be chronically bad.
