Algorithmic Violence and Legal Subjectivity: Rethinking Normative Fraeworks in the Age of Sexual Deepfakes

Aguirre-Lanegra A.J.; Ramos-Zaga F. · Estudios en Derecho a la Informacion (2026) · DOI: 10.22201/iij.25940082e.2026.21.20198

Resumen

The proliferation of sexual deepfakes presents unprecedented legal challenges, as they constitute a particularly insidious form of digital violence that undermines sexual intimacy and autonomy without requiring direct physical interaction yet generates tangible consequences in the symbolic and psychosocial domains. This phenomenon calls for a critical reassessment of existing legal frameworks, which have thus far proven insufficient to address the complexity of algorithmically mediated assaults. Accordingly, this article aims to propose a comprehensive normative framework that integrates prevention, sanction, and redress, grounded in three key conceptual contributions: qualified digital consent, introducing algorithmic traceability as a procedural safeguard; digital dignity, understood as the extension of legal protection into the representational sphere; and symbolic harm, which redefines the threshold of legal injury by incorporating psychosocial and reputational damage as legally protected interests. The findings invite a reconsideration of traditional legal categories and suggest that sexual deepfakes not only exceed the confines of classical criminal law but also constitute an epistemic rupture that challenges the very notion of legal subjectivity in increasingly artificial environments. In conclusion, the study argues for the development of more adaptive and co-responsible legal architectures capable of incorporating digital governance principles, transnational cooperation, and continuous normative updating, in order to ensure the effective protection of human dignity within the contemporary digital ecosystem.

Instituciones: Universidad Privada del Norte