Teen questioned after explicit deepfakes of schoolgirls shared online

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

0 3 minutes read

By Hilary Whiteman, CNN

Sydney (CNN) — Australian authorities are investigating the distribution of deepfake pornographic images of around fifty schoolgirls, allegedly created by a teenager using artificial intelligence.

The finding comes as the federal government pushes for new laws to impose prison sentences on offenders who create and share images created by AI tools to humiliate and denigrate victims.

Other countries, including the United States, are trying to deal with an alarming rise in deepfake porn, where nude deepfakes of schoolgirls have been created and shared – in some cases, allegedly by schoolboys.

Victoria Police have confirmed they have arrested and released a teenager “in relation to explicit images circulating online” pending further investigations.

The images were allegedly created from photos posted on social media of 50 female students from Bacchus Marsh Grammar, a co-educational school in the Melbourne suburb of Victoria.

School principal Andrew Neal told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the victims were girls in years 9 to 12, indicating a possible age range of 14 to 18.

The boy's age and identity are unknown, but Neal told ABC that “logic would suggest that the [offender] is someone at school.

Speaking to the ABC on Wednesday, the mother of a 16-year-old Bacchus Marsh Grammar student, whose image was not used, said her daughter vomited when she saw the 'mutilated' photos online.

“I went to pick up my daughter after a sleepover and she was very upset, she was vomiting and it was incredibly graphic,” the mother told ABC Radio Melbourne, giving only her first name, Emily.

The school said in a statement it was offering counseling to students and assisting police with their investigation.

“The welfare of Bacchus Marsh Grammar students and their families is of paramount importance to the school and is taken into account,” the statement said.

Legal fight to stop deepfakes

Social media companies including X and Meta say all non-consensual pornography is banned on their platforms, but explicit AI-generated images continue to spread rapidly online.

Last November, 14-year-old New Jersey high school student Francesca Mani led public demands for a U.S. federal crackdown on AI-generated deepfake pornography, saying images of her and Dozens of her Westfield High School classmates had been manipulated.

High-profile victims of doctored explicit images include Taylor Swift and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In March, Ocasio-Cortez introduced federal legislation – the Explicit Falsified Images and Nonconsensual Alterations Act of 2024 (DEFIANCE Act) – to give victims the power to sue people who create nonconsensual deepfakes.

However, the bipartisan legislation, backed by senior Republican officials, failed to pass a unanimous consent motion on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Victoria is the only Australian state where sharing deepfake pornography is a criminal offense.

In 2022, the State Government introduced three-year prison sentences for using technology to generate or share child pornography or sexually explicit material without consent.

This month, the Australian government introduced legislation to criminalize the distribution of deepfake pornography across the country.

Under the proposed law, offenders could face up to six years in prison for sharing non-consensual and sexually explicit deepfake material.

If the offender also created the shared deepfake content without authorization, the penalty could be up to seven years in prison.

It's part of the country's response to gender-based violence that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called a “national crisis.”

So far this year, 35 women have been killed, according to the Counting Dead Women Project – many of them believed to have been killed by current or former partners.

Last month the state government appointed a parliamentary secretary for men's behavior change, a first in Australia.

On his nomination, MP Tim Richardson said he would focus on the impact of the internet and social media on men's attitudes towards women.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said the teenager's alleged actions were “shameful and misogynistic”.

“Women and girls deserve respect in the classroom, online and everywhere else in our community. That’s why we’ve passed laws against this behavior and we teach respectful relationships in schools to stop violence before it starts,” Allan said.