We are currently experiencing one of the fastest technological shifts in history. While we cannot predict exactly what AI will look like in five years, it has already come leaps and bounds from 2023, when “ChatGPT” became a household name.
In the past, safeguarding a child online often meant keeping the family computer in a shared space, like the living room. That approach is now completely outdated. Today, a photo that a child posts on a Friday can be altered, manipulated, and weaponized by Monday, and the person responsible might even be someone sitting just a few desks away at school. AI can now create hyper-realistic faces, voices, and videos that are so convincing that even the person being imitated may struggle to prove they are fake. For children growing up with smartphones, deepfakes are no longer the stuff of science fiction; they are part of the digital world they are entering.
For those unfamiliar with the term, a deepfake is AI-generated synthetic media that creates highly realistic but entirely fabricated images, audio, or video. While this technology has valid applications in filmmaking, accessibility, and entertainment, it has also become a potent tool for harassment, fraud, and exploitation.
In a study by UNICEF, ECPAT International, and INTERPOL across 11 countries, at least 1.2 million children disclosed that their images had been manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes in a single year, and The Wall Street Journal reported that more than one hundred “nudify” apps have collectively been downloaded over 700 million times.
While reading these statistics, you might think these are just numbers or hypothetical risks, but they are affecting real families across the globe. In New Jersey, fourteen-year-old Francesca Mani discovered that classmates had placed her face, along with those of more than thirty girls at Westfield High School, onto fabricated nude bodies, and in Faridabad, India, nineteen-year-old Rahul Bharti died by suicide after a blackmailer used AI-generated fake images of him and his three sisters to demand roughly 20,000 INR (about CAD $330) from him. This technology is already causing significant harm, and this is just the beginning, as AI continues to become more powerful with every new release.
In Canada, existing provisions in the Criminal Code regarding non-consensual intimate images apply to many cases, and there are ongoing reforms aimed at including AI-generated sexual content.
However, these laws remain reactive, addressing harm only after it has occurred, while the tools that facilitate abuse are widely accessible. Enforcement of these laws is inconsistent because platforms operate globally, while regulations tend to be national.
We need stronger enforcement that targets the creators and distributors of “nudify” tools, holds platforms accountable, and treats synthetic sexual images of children as material for sexual exploitation. The responsibility for preventing this abuse should shift from victims to the systems that enable it.
Even the strongest laws can move more slowly than technology, and no court order can erase an image from someone’s memory. Children need protection well before any legal intervention is necessary.
As parents, our instinct might be to ban social media or take away phones, which is understandable. But fear alone is not an effective teacher; children raised to anticipate punishment may hide problems rather than seek help when something goes wrong. We must remember that shame thrives in silence, and silence is exactly what abusers rely on.
A victim of a deepfake does nothing wrong simply by existing.
As both a researcher and a father, I believe we must teach children to pause before believing or sharing content that evokes a strong emotional reaction. They need to understand that healthy skepticism is a valuable thinking skill, not cynicism. The more children learn about how AI can manipulate images, videos, and voices, the less likely they are to accept everything they see online as genuine. One effective approach is to show them examples of authentic media alongside AI-generated content, encouraging them to ask questions before reacting or sharing.
Most importantly, every child should know that if they ever become the target of a deepfake, they can turn to their parents for support rather than fear being blamed. No curriculum can replace a parent who has consistently said, “if this ever happens to you, it is not your fault, and I will help you.”
Like many parents, I worry about the world my daughter is growing up in. The tools capable of creating convincing deepfakes are becoming increasingly powerful and accessible every year. This reality is unsettling, but fear is just the beginning; it should not be where we remain. We must recognize that strong laws, improved technology, and better education all matter. However, each of these will inevitably struggle to keep pace with innovation. What we can do today is raise children who understand how these deceptions work, question what they see online, and know without a doubt that they can come to us without fear or shame.
Strong laws and resilient children must go hand in hand. This combination is our best defence against a problem that is only just beginning.
Sayeem Md Abdullah is a researcher and software engineer whose work explores how people think, remember, and interact with digital technologies. His research has been presented internationally, with publications at ISS Companion, IEEE UEMCON, HUCAPP/VISIGRAPP, CHI EA, and Graphics Interface.
REFERENCES
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[2] The Wall Street Journal, “AI Supercharges Deepfake Nudes and Online Harassment,” The Wall Street Journal, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai-deepfake-nudes bullying-school-d242b8d4. (Accessed: Jul. 3, 2026).
[3] NBC News, “Girls victimized by AI deepfake nudes struggle with limited recourse,” NBC News, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/little-recourse-teens girls-victimized-ai-deepfake-nudes-rcna126399. (Accessed: Jul. 3, 2026).
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[6] ABC News Australia, “Social media deepfake abuse and its impact on kids,” ABC News Australia, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-13/social-media deepfake-abuse-impact-on-kids/104457222. (Accessed: Jul. 3, 2026).
[7] eSafety Commissioner (Australia), “eSafety Commissioner,” eSafety Commissioner, [Online]. Available: https://www.esafety. gov.au. (Accessed: Jul. 3, 2026).
[8] Recording Law, “Deepfake & AI Voice Cloning Laws by State (2026),” Recording Law, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www. recordinglaw.com/us-laws/deepfake-laws/. (Accessed: Jul. 3, 2026).
[9] American Psychological Association, “How to teach students critical thinking skills to combat misinformation online,” American Psychological Association, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/09/media-literacy misinformation. (Accessed: Jul. 3, 2026).
[10] Government of the United Kingdom, “A Safe, Informed Digital Nation,” GOV.UK, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.gov.uk/ government/publications/a-safe-informed-digital-nation/a-safe informed-digital-nation. (Accessed: Jul. 3, 2026).
