TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — People convicted of profiting from the distribution of deepfake pornographic material could spend up to seven years in prison following legislative amendments approved Saturday (Jan. 7).

The changes to the Criminal Code were set in motion last March after cases emerged of the likenesses of famous people, including politicians and entertainers, being used in pornographic videos being sold online, the Liberty Times reported.

The use of sexually explicit images to blackmail a person by threatening to post them online will be punishable by a maximum jail term of three years, according to the report. Disseminating the images will result in prison sentences from six months to five years, while planning to distribute them for a profit would add half the term to the sentence.

The recording of sexually explicit images using the threat of violence against innocent people would lead to five years in prison, and seven years if the images were disseminated. Again, if profit was involved in the distribution, the prison term would be increased by half.

In the case of deepfakes, the maximum jail term is five years, with seven years if the images were disseminated, the report said.