San Francisco Frontiers - Sexualised deepfakes targeting actress spur German '#MeToo' moment

Headlines in Germany have been dominated by the case of Collien Fernandes, 44, after she went public about faked pornographic images of her circulating on the internet.

The case has sparked demonstrations across the country in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and elsewhere, with one of the key organisers being an activist collective called Vulver which says there are "glaring gaps" in legal protections for women online.

The government had already been planning to develop measures to deal with AI-generated deepfakes targeting women, but in the wake of the Fernandes case the justice ministry has promised legislation will be brought forward "very soon".

In an article in Der Spiegel magazine earlier this month, Fernandes said she suspected her ex-husband, 50-year-old actor and TV presenter Christian Ulmen, of using fake social media accounts in her name in order to spread fake sexualised images of her.

Ulmen denies any wrongdoing.

Some German media have said the case is the digital equivalent of that of Gisele Pelicot.

Pelicot became a global symbol in the fight against sexual violence after she waived her right to anonymity during the 2024 trial of her ex-husband and dozens of strangers who raped her while she was unconscious.

- 'Offenders' paradise' -

Fernandes said she has been suffering online harassment for years because of the material spread about her online but initially had no suspicions as to who might be behind it.

She filed a complaint against persons unknown in 2024, but the resulting investigation was shelved last June.

On Friday prosecutors announced they were opening a probe into Ulmen after evaluating Spiegel's reporting.

Fernandes has also filed a complaint in Spain, where she and Ulmen lived and which has stricter laws concerning violence against women.

She has been vocal about what she says are the weaker protections for victims in Germany, calling it an "offenders' paradise".

The justice ministry has admitted that German law is "lagging behind technological developments in this area" and that this would be addressed in its upcoming proposals.

The head of the German judges' union, Sven Rebehn, told the Rheinische Post newspaper that a "glaring lack of personnel" was also hindering more prosecutions.

- Digital violence -

On Thursday Fernandes addressed a rally in Hamburg which drew around 17,000 people demanding tougher action from the government.

She spoke to the crowd wearing a bullet-proof vest due to death threats.

"Some men -- and it's only men -- want to kill me," she said, close to tears.

On Sunday in Munich thousands braved the rain at another demonstration against deepfakes and sexual violence.

As well as supporting Fernandes, the protesters wanted to "stand with all other victims who don't have a voice", said Luna Sahling from the Young Greens, which organised the gathering.

"We want to show very clearly that we need real laws to protect women in particular from digital violence," she told AFP.

When asked by MPs about the issue of violence against women last week, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that "a considerable part of this violence comes from migrant communities".

"A shameless populist lie," said Lydia Dietrich, director of a women's aid organisation in Munich who was also at Sunday's demonstration.

She accused Merz of "pandering to resentments" and of letting down those who are trying to effect real change on the issue.

J.Martinez--SFF