02-05-2025
Teen boy suspended from prestigious private school after discovery of deepfake image of a teacher
A teenage boy has been 'suspended indefinitely' from a prestigious private school in Adelaide after the discovery of a deepfake image of a teacher.
Lauren Brooks, the principal of St Ignatius' College in the city's north-east, confirmed the senior school student would remain out of class as investigations continued.
Ms Brooks said SAPOL have been informed about the deepfake and that the member of staff featured in image is being supported.
'The college is aware of this matter and the wellbeing of everyone involved is our highest priority,' she said in a statement to The Advertiser.
Ms Brooks said the school 'invested considerable effort in educating our students about the significant risks these (online) platforms pose to their safety and dignity and that of others'.
'Whilst we appreciate this is a challenging space for young people, we have incredibly high standards of every Ignatian student,' she said.
'All our students must be accountable for their actions and the consequences that accompany them.'
There has been no indication that the deepfake is sexually explicit in nature.
SA Police and St Ignatius' College have been contacted for comment.
It comes as the SA government passed landmark legislation this week criminalising non-consensual creation and dissemination of deepfake material.
'This is the fastest growing threat to women and girls online today,' SA Best member of the South Australian Legislative Council, Connie Bonaros said about deepfakes.
'Anyone, who feels entitled enough to exploit, to degrade or to humiliate a woman or a girl or anybody else, should feel the full force of the law. Deepfake abuse online is not acceptable and it will not be tolerated in South Australia.'
Ms Bonaros presented the 'Bonaros Bill', which was passed on Wednesday.
Offenders who use AI to 'generate simulated humiliating, degrading or invasive images, audio or video purporting to be of real people' could face up to four years in jail or fines of up to $20,000.
Australia's eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant said last year that explicit deepfakes have increased by as much as 550 per cent year-on-year since 2019.
'It's a bit shocking to note that pornographic videos make up 98 per cent of the deepfake material currently online,' she said.
'And 99 per cent of that imagery is of women and girls.'
Her comments were made while addressing an inquiry in July into the 'Deepfake Sexual Material Bill'.
Adelaide is not the only state impacted by terrifying headlines of deepfakes created by school students.
Victoria Police arrested a teenage boy from a Melbourne secondary college in February.
It followed the discovery of photos of female students from a formal which had allegedly been digitally altered in a 'sexually explicit' manner and shared online.
The month before, a Sydney high school was embroiled in a deepfake pornography crisis when artificial intelligence was allegedly used to make pornographic images of female pupils by a year 12 student.
