A teenager is being questioned following the online distribution of explicit deepfakes involving schoolgirls.
A teenager was arrested by Victoria Police for circulating explicit images created using AI tools to humiliate and degrade female students at Bacchus Marsh Grammar, a school in Melbourne, Australia. The images, which have reportedly been made using pictures posted on social media, were discovered as the government is pushing for new laws to punish offenders who create and share such content.
This case is one amongst many that reveal a growing concern over deepfake porn, where schoolgirls have allegedly been targeted by students creating nude deepfakes of them. The issue is also being addressed in other countries like the United States.
Andrew Neal, the school's principal, confirmed the arrest and said that the victims were girls in grades 9 to 12, putting their age range between 14 and 18. The identity of the offender is currently unknown. However, logic suggests that the perpetrator is someone within the school.
A mother whose daughter's image wasn't used but was still affected shared her experience with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), saying her daughter vomited after seeing the "mutilated" pictures online. The school has offered counseling to the affected students and is assisting police in their investigation.
The spread of explicit AI-generated images, despite bans on nonconsensual pornography on social media platforms, leads to calls for a federal crackdown in the U.S. Francesca Mani, a New Jersey high school student, led the demand for such laws last November as images of herself and her classmates were shared. Prominent victims of manipulated images include Taylor Swift and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
In March, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced federal legislation, the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act), to allow victims to sue people creating non-consensual deepfakes of them. The bi-partisan bill, backed by senior Republicans, failed to pass a motion for unanimous consent.
Victoria is the only Australian state where sharing deepfake pornography is a criminal offense. In 2022, the state government introduced laws imposing three-year jail terms for using technology to share child abuse material or sexually explicit content without consent. This month, the Australian government proposed a nationwide law against deepfake pornography, with prison sentences of up to six years for sharing non-consensual sexually explicit content and seven years for creating it.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has referred to gender-based violence as a "national crisis," with 35 women killed this year, many allegedly by partners or ex-partners. To address the impact of the internet and social media on men's behavior, a Parliamentary Secretary for Men's Behavior Change was appointed this month, marking an Australian first.
The Victoria State Premier, Jacinta Allan, condemned the actions of the teenager as "disgraceful and misogynistic."
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The case of the arrested teenager highlights the global concern over deepfake porn, as Australia joins other countries like the United States in addressing this issue. The explicit images circulated by the teenager were reportedly made using AI tools and involved schoolgirls from Bacchus Marsh Grammar, a school in Melbourne, Australia.
