In a survey, 1 in 10 children said they knew of peers who had used AI to make deepfake nudes of other kids. These "nudify" apps are purposefully built so that anyone, with minimal skill, can turn an ordinary photo into a fake nude. The only raw material required is a child's face. You can't always be present to keep your child's face from being uploaded online, especially when it comes to classmates or friends. But you can meaningfully protect them.
1. Talk first to create a safe environment
A child who has never heard the word deepfake may meet one in shame and silence. A child who has heard, calmly and ahead of time, that these fakes exist and that none of it would be their fault knows exactly who to tell. Keep it age appropriate, and make it unmistakable by saying it more than once. A child needs to know that they will never be in trouble for telling you.
2. Shrink the raw material
Set social media accounts to private. Limit who can see, download, and share. Turn off location. Think twice before posting clear, front-facing photos of your child publicly, and consider covering a face with an emoji in images you do share.
3. Teach Digital Literacy
Teach children to think critically about what they see and to question whether an image or video is real, since AI can fabricate convincing fakes. Teach that consent and bodily autonomy include a person's image, even a synthetic one, and that "nudifying" someone's photo is not a joke but a serious harm.
We protect children best not by walling off the digital world, but by giving them the words to name their rights and the confidence to claim them.
