The Dark Side of AI Deepfake Pornography Exploits Women and Children
Artificial intelligence has made it possible to create convincing sexual images of real people without their consent using little more than an ordinary photograph.
What once required specialist editing skills can now be carried out through readily accessible AI tools and so called nudification services. As a result, a photograph taken from social media, a school account or an ordinary family image can potentially be manipulated into fabricated intimate content.
This is not simply a problem involving fake pictures. It is increasingly recognised as a form of image based sexual abuse that can affect privacy, reputation, mental wellbeing and personal safety.
Women and girls remain disproportionately targeted by sexual deepfakes. International research and government assessments continue to describe nonconsensual AI generated intimate imagery as a significant form of technology facilitated gender based violence. GOV.UK
However, children are also becoming increasingly exposed to this form of abuse.
AI Generated Sexual Abuse Is Growing Rapidly
The development of generative AI has dramatically lowered the technical barrier to creating fabricated sexual imagery.
The Internet Watch Foundation reported a sharp increase in realistic AI generated child sexual abuse material during 2025. It identified 491 reports containing realistic AI generated child sexual abuse imagery, up from 193 reports during 2024. Internet Watch Foundation
Video generation has developed even faster. The IWF recorded more than 3,400 AI generated child sexual abuse videos during 2025, compared with only 13 during 2024. Internet Watch Foundation
For parents and schools, this matters because the technology no longer requires advanced technical knowledge.
A photograph of a young person can potentially be taken from a social media profile, school event, messaging group or other online source and manipulated without that person ever creating or sharing an intimate image themselves.
Nudification Apps Have Changed the Risk
So called nudification tools attempt to digitally remove or alter clothing in photographs. Their existence fundamentally changes the traditional conversation about sexting and intimate image safety. A young person can make careful decisions about what they share and still become the subject of fabricated sexual material.
For example, an ordinary photograph taken while fully clothed may be enough for an abusive user to generate a fake intimate image.
The problem therefore cannot be addressed simply by telling young people not to send sexual photographs. Digital literacy must now also address image manipulation, consent, AI misuse and what to do when fabricated content appears.
When Deepfake Abuse Reaches Schools
Deepfake intimate imagery can become a new form of peer abuse.
A student may create a fake sexual image of another student and distribute it through messaging groups, social platforms or private accounts. The image may be fabricated, but the humiliation and fear experienced by the person depicted can be very real.
Similarly, the person targeted may have no way of knowing how widely the image has travelled or whether copies have been saved.
Schools therefore need to treat AI generated intimate imagery as a serious safeguarding issue rather than dismissing it as a joke, prank or harmless manipulation.
Responses should consider the welfare of the person depicted, preservation of appropriate evidence, reporting, platform removal procedures and whether law enforcement or child protection services should be involved.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act Has Now Become US Law
The TAKE IT DOWN Act became federal law on 19 May 2025. It criminalises specified forms of nonconsensual intimate imagery, including qualifying digital forgeries. GovInfo The law also created important responsibilities for covered online platforms.
From 19 May 2026, covered services must provide a clear process allowing victims to request removal of qualifying intimate images. Following a valid request, the platform must act as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours, while also making reasonable efforts to remove known identical copies. Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is responsible for enforcing these platform requirements. This legislation should not be confused with Take It Down, the separate image protection service operated by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
NCMEC Take It Down Can Help Stop Images Spreading
NCMEC’s Take It Down service is designed to help people who were under 18 when a nude, partially nude or sexually explicit image of them was created.
The service creates a digital fingerprint, known as a hash, on the person’s own device. Participating platforms can then use that fingerprint to help identify matching copies. This approach is important because the image itself does not need to be uploaded to NCMEC.
For adults dealing with non-consensual intimate imagery, StopNCII.org provides a related hash based tool.
Ireland and Coco’s Law
Ireland already has important legal protections.
The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020, commonly known as Coco’s Law, criminalises specified sharing or threats to share intimate images without consent. Irish Statute Book
Importantly, Irish Government guidance confirms that the legislation can also apply where an intimate image merely purports or claims to depict another person, even when the image is not genuinely of them. This includes what is commonly described as a deepfake. Government of Ireland
In addition, where AI generated material sexually depicts a child, other Irish criminal legislation may apply. In January 2026 the Irish Government specifically highlighted Coco’s Law, child sexual abuse material legislation and the Online Safety Code while responding to concerns about AI generated explicit imagery. Government of Ireland
Anyone concerned about potentially criminal intimate imagery in Ireland can contact An Garda Síochána and can also report relevant illegal online content through Hotline.ie.
The UK Has Also Strengthened Its Laws
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 includes new provisions targeting tools designed to generate purported intimate images. These measures address the making, supplying or offering to supply intimate image generators, including nudification services. Legislation.gov.uk
The UK has also introduced stronger expectations around removal of non-consensual intimate images. As a result, the regulatory direction is moving beyond simply responding after abuse occurs and towards preventing repeated distribution.
Ofcom has also strengthened its approach to illegal intimate imagery and has promoted technologies such as hash matching to help platforms detect known abusive material before it is repeatedly uploaded. www.ofcom.org.uk
Platform Responsibility Is Becoming More Important
The scale of AI generated abuse cannot realistically be addressed by victims alone. Platforms increasingly face pressure to improve reporting systems, remove abusive imagery quickly and prevent known copies from being repeatedly uploaded.
However, detection remains difficult because AI generated material continues to improve in quality and can be created in enormous volumes. The growth of generative video makes this challenge even more significant.
Consequently, online safety policy is increasingly moving towards prevention, rapid removal, hash matching and stronger accountability for services that host or facilitate abusive content.
The Psychological Harm Can Be Real Even When the Image Is Fake
The fact that an image was generated by AI does not make the experience harmless. Someone viewing the image may believe that it is genuine. It can be circulated among peers, colleagues or strangers. It may also appear alongside the person’s real name, school, workplace or social media account.
As a result, victims can experience humiliation, fear, loss of control and anxiety about where the content may appear next.
For young people in particular, the social consequences can extend into school, friendships and family relationships. The correct response is therefore not to tell the victim that the image is “only fake”. The abuse involves a real person whose identity and appearance have been used without consent.
What Parents Should Do
For parents, the first priority should be supporting the young person rather than immediately focusing on punishment, device removal or how the image came to exist.
Preserve relevant URLs, usernames, dates and messages where this can be done safely.
Do not download, resend or circulate suspected child sexual abuse material in an attempt to preserve evidence.
Report the content to the platform.
Where appropriate, contact the Gardaí or relevant law enforcement body.
For images involving someone who was under 18, consider NCMEC’s Take It Down service.
In Ireland, relevant illegal material can also be reported to Hotline.ie.
Finally, schools should be informed where students or the school community are involved.
What Schools Should Do
Schools should include AI generated intimate imagery within safeguarding, anti bullying and online safety procedures. Staff should understand that fabricated sexual imagery can involve serious legal and child protection considerations.
In addition, students need clear education about consent and the fact that creating or circulating a fake sexual image of another person is not harmless experimentation with AI.
Schools should establish clear reporting routes so that students know where to seek help without fearing that they will automatically lose access to their devices or be blamed for what happened.
What Young People Need to Understand
For young people, one of the most important messages is that a fake image can still cause genuine harm. Creating a sexualised image of another person without their permission can have consequences for the victim, the person who created it and anyone who distributes it.
A photograph being publicly available does not mean that someone has consented to having it manipulated. Similarly, deleting an image after it has been shared does not guarantee that every copy has disappeared. Consent matters regardless of whether an image is real or generated by AI.
The Technology Has Changed, but the Principle Has Not
The technology behind deepfakes will continue to improve. However, the underlying issue remains straightforward. A person should have control over how their identity and body are represented. AI does not remove the requirement for consent.
Governments are beginning to respond with stronger laws. Regulators are increasing pressure on platforms. Removal and hashing tools are improving. Yet prevention still depends heavily on education, responsible technology design and people understanding that creating fabricated sexual content of another person can constitute serious abuse.
Finally, the most important change may be cultural. AI generated intimate imagery should not be dismissed as a joke because the photograph is fake.
The image may be synthetic. The person being harmed is real.
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