UK Schools Told to Remove Children’s Photos as Criminals Use AI to Create Explicit Images

U.K schools have been advised to remove students’ photos from their websites as blackmailers are using them to create sexually explicit images.

Child safety experts and the U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA) have warned that schools are facing blackmail threats from criminals who use AI tools to manipulate photos of children and then demand money to stop the images from being published.

According to a report by The Guardian, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) says an unnamed U.K. secondary school was recently targeted in a blackmail attempt after criminals took photos of students from the school’s website or social media accounts and used AI tools to turn them into child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The offenders then sent the images to the school and threatened to release them online unless they were paid.

The IWF, which monitors CSAM online, says it used a digital tool to convert the manipulated images into a “hash,” or digital fingerprint, which was then shared with major technology platforms to stop the content from being uploaded. The watchdog says 150 images linked to the blackmail attempt could be classified as CSAM under U.K. law.

The Guardian reports that the extortion attempt took place late last year, but it is not the only case involving manipulated photos taken from school websites or social media accounts that the IWF is aware of in the U.K.

Avoid ‘Clear’ Photos

Police and child safety experts are now urging schools to remove pictures showing pupils’ faces from websites and social media because of what they describe as an emerging threat. A U.K. advisory body on tackling online harms, the Early Warning Working Group (EWWG), has issued guidance to schools on how to better protect students online. Although the issue is not yet widespread, the group says it is concerned that it is “only a matter of time” before more schools are targeted.

The guidance recommends that schools avoid publishing clear face-on photos of students and instead use images that are more difficult to manipulate, such as pictures taken from a distance, blurred images, or photographs taken from behind pupils. It also warns schools against sharing “identifiable information” that could be used to harm or blackmail someone, including “names or faces.”

The guidance also says schools should consider whether publishing pupil photos is necessary at all. It states that schools should think about “whether using imagery without children and young people’s faces can still achieve your objectives,” including “celebrating achievements more safely” while “minimizing risks.”

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.