Uruguay Signs International AI Privacy Warning Over Non-Consensual Intimate Deepfakes

By Pittaluga Abogados

The country’s data protection authority — the Unidad Reguladora y de Control de Datos Personales (URCDP) — is among 61 global signatories of the Joint Statement on AI-Generated Imagery and the Protection of Privacy, coordinated through the Global Privacy Assembly and supported by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).

The declaration responds to the rapid rise of generative AI systems capable of producing realistic fake images and videos of identifiable individuals without their consent. Regulators specifically warned about:

• non-consensual intimate imagery,
• sexual deepfakes,
• defamatory synthetic content,
• harassment,
• and increased risks to children and vulnerable groups.

According to the official statement, organizations developing or deploying AI image-generation systems must comply with privacy and data protection laws, implement safeguards against abuse, and provide fast and accessible reporting and removal mechanisms.

The document also stresses that, in many jurisdictions, creating or distributing intimate AI-generated imagery without consent may already constitute a criminal offense.

Uruguay’s participation is significant because the country has long been recognized internationally for strong data protection standards. The European Union currently considers Uruguay one of the countries providing an “adequate” level of personal data protection for international data transfers.

The debate has become increasingly urgent worldwide as generative AI tools dramatically reduce the technical barriers required to create convincing deepfakes. What previously required advanced technical expertise can now often be done through consumer apps and publicly available AI models.

Privacy regulators are now signaling a broader shift in how governments view AI systems: not simply as neutral software tools, but as technologies capable of creating systemic risks related to dignity, identity, consent, and fundamental rights.

The international statement does not call for banning generative AI. Instead, it pushes for stronger accountability, safety-by-design measures, transparency, and protections against misuse — particularly when children are involved.