A Criminal Law Review Of The Use Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) In The Dissemination Of Pornographic Content And Sexual Harassment From A Statutory Perspective

Abstract

The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, particularly through digital manipulation techniques such as deepfakes, has introduced unprecedented challenges to the Indonesian criminal law framework. This technology is frequently exploited to generate and disseminate non-consensual pornographic content and to perpetrate digital sexual harassment, which severely undermines human dignity. This study examines the nature of criminal liability for perpetrators who abuse AI technology to spread obscene content, as well as the legal protections available to victims under the prevailing Indonesian legislative framework. This study employed a normative legal research method with a statutory approach. Sources of data were obtained through literature studies comprising primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials, including the Indonesian Criminal Code (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana - KUHP), Law No. 44 of 2008 concerning Pornography, and Law No. 1 of 2024 concerning the Second Amendment to the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law. The findings indicate that while current regulations (namely the ITE Law and the Pornography Law) encompass the offenses of disseminating obscene content electronically, legal lacunae and ambiguities remain regarding the boundaries of criminal liability among users, AI software developers, and platform providers. Furthermore, establishing evidentiary proof in AI-manipulated cases demands complex digital forensic capabilities. This study concludes that legislative updates or the introduction of more specific regulations governing the ethics and boundaries of AI utilization are imperative, alongside strengthening victim protection mechanisms, to ensure legal certainty in the era of digital transformation.