Sharing deepfake pornography is “the next sexual violence epidemic” facing schools, the author of a book on the spread of online misogyny has told MPs.
Appearing before the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC), Laura Bates said there needs to be statutory guidance for teachers on how to deal with this “very significant issue”.
She said in every UK case she has investigated, schools have “paid thousands of pounds hiring PR firms to focus on damage reputation management”.
However, in terms of supporting girls and taking action against the perpetrators, “nothing has happened”.
She said of deepfake pornography: “It is happening, it’s significant. Female teachers are affected, which often goes unnoticed, and schools are just not equipped to tackle it.
“My suggestion would be this is the next big sexual violence epidemic facing schools and people don’t even know it is going on.”
Deepfakes are pictures, videos or audio clips made with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to look or sound real.
While it is illegal to create or share a sexually explicit image of a child, including a deepfake, the technology for making them remains legal.
Asked what more could be done to help schools tackle the issue, Ms Bates said in the cases she is aware of “police investigations are ongoing” .
However, she said she is not suggesting criminalisation of underage boys is the solution and what is needed is education, prevention and regulation.
“It shouldn’t be the case that a 12-year-old boy can easily and freely access tools to create these forms of content in the first place,” she said.
Ms Bates is the founder of the Everyday Sexism project and author of: The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny.
She also called for “very clear guidance” on how schools should respond to this challenge.
She warned of a repeat of failings that…
