Sydney teenager reported to police over deepfake explicit images of female classmates

A Sydney teenager is under police investigation for allegedly creating explicit deepfake AI images of his female classmates and circulating them via fake social media accounts.

The New South Wales police said they launched an investigation after receiving a report on Monday that “inappropriate images were being produced and distributed online”.

NSW premier Chris Minns said such matters were taken “very seriously” by both the police and the department of education.

The NSW police, the eSafety Commissioner, and the department of education were working together on the case, local media reported.

The Department of Education condemned the act. “We do not tolerate such behaviour and will take the appropriate action,” a spokesperson said.

“Our highest priority is to ensure our students feel safe and any decision about this student’s future involvement in the school will be based on that. We are helping affected students with appropriate wellbeing support and will do so as long as required.”

Disciplinary action would be taken against the high school student and support was being provided to those impacted, authorities said.

NSW education minister Prue Car said on Thursday the incident was “abhorrent and will not be tolerated”.

“This has been a disgusting turn of events. We will leave that investigation of possible criminality to the police,” Car said.

She said the male student involved would face “serious disciplinary action.”

In a statement to the ABC, Australian eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant said: “It is important that Australia remains on the vanguard of protecting its citizens from harmful content and conduct and have a range of tools in our toolkit.”

Australia introduced the Criminal Code Amendment Deepfake Sexual Material Bill 2024 last June to criminalise non-consensual sharing of sexually explicit material, including deepfakes. The law introduced strict penalties for such offences.

Individuals sharing such content without consent could face up to six years in prison. Creating and sharing a deepfake without the consent of the affected person would amount to an aggravated offence, carrying a harsher penalty of up to seven years in prison.