Safeguarding experts share advice on AI-generated abuse in from deepfakes

AI-generated abuse in the form of deepfakes is becoming an increasingly prevalent safeguarding issue. Despite this, almost two-thirds of children and half of parents report not knowing or understanding the term ‘deepfake’Here, the experts at High Speed Training share insights on AI-generated abuse in the form of deepfakes.

What are deepfakes?

Dr. Richard Anderson, Learning Experience Director at High Speed Training said: “Deepfakes are fake images, videos or audio content made by someone manipulating real content, such as a real image of someone on holiday with their family.  This can make deepfakes indistinguishable from the real thing, as they can be made into an exact likeness. Deepfakes aren’t always harmful, nor are they inherently illegal. However, they are increasingly being used for malicious purposes, which can be a criminal offence.

“When abuse is not understood, it makes it difficult to recognise and teach children how to protect themselves and others. As such, a basic understanding of deepfakes and the safeguarding risks they can pose is essential to ensuring that children are kept safe and risks are identified and managed in a timely manner.”

A report by Internet Matters found that 25% of vulnerable children had had experiences with deepfakes depicting nudity. They also found that the majority of deepfakes are used for harmful purposes, with deepfakes depicting nudity making up approximately 98% of all deepfakes. However, it remains difficult to establish the true scale of deepfakes circulating online and the numbers could be significantly higher. 

When is the use of deepfakes illegal?

As mentioned, deepfakes are not inherently illegal however their use can be illegal in some instances. These instances include:

• Intimate image abuse or ‘revenge porn’
• Child sexual abuse material
• Hate crime
• Fraud
• False communications to cause serious harm, either emotionally or physically
• Terrorist activity
• Stalking and harassment
• Blackmail

Dr Anderson continues: “The nature of deepfakes places children at risk of seeing age-inappropriate content of people they know or even themselves without their consent or the consent of others. Deepfakes violate an individual’s privacy, perpetuate harmful stereotypes and, at times, can be used to incite violence. 

“The ease with which young people can access the technology used to create deepfakes can also facilitate child-on-child abuse, encourage the adoption of harmful opinions and create an unsafe educational environment for many children. Adults should therefore have an awareness of the risks that deepfakes pose and know what to do should a deepfake incident occur.”

How to tackle the issue of deepfakes

1. Preventative education – Preventative education is a proactive approach to tackling deepfakes as it helps to create a zero tolerance mentality. This actively discourages bigotry, hatred or violence as children and young people are aware of the harm that it causes. When young people have a strong sense of what constitutes bigotry or harmful content, they are less likely to engage with it and therefore less likely to expose others to it.

2. Engaging with news and encouraging open discussion – AI-generated abuse should be discussed in an age-appropriate and open manner so that young people are aware of its real world consequences.  Whilst the goal should never be to scare children, engaging with the news and hearing from survivors can encourage pause and reflection on their own actions and the content they engage with. Facilitating open discussions also encourages children to ask questions without fear of judgement and with the goal to understand. This enables adults to gauge how young people view AI-generated abuse and to recognise any potential signs that an incident has or may occur. 

3. Encouraging critical thinking – For many children and young people life with the internet is all they have ever known. This can bring with it a false sense of authority that indirectly encourages a blind belief and acceptance of whatever they see online. Critical thinking can encourage children and young people to adopt a level of digital skepticism which leads them to question the reliability of what they see online. This enables them to critically assess what they see and better recognise false content before they engage with it and share it with others.

Dr Anderson concludes: “Education is a vital way for adults to inform young people of the danger of deepfakes. Discussions around deepfakes must always be had in an age-appropriate manner but it is vital that all young people  regardless of age, understand that deepfakes can be used to cause serious harm.”

For more tips and in-depth guidance, visit High Speed Training Hub