Report – In Deep Trouble: Surfacing Tech-Powered Sexual Harassment in K-12 Schools

By: CDT's Elizabeth Laird, Maddy Dwyer, & Kristin Woelfel

Executive Summary

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools continue to capture the imagination, but increasingly the technology’s damaging potential is revealing itself. An often problematic use of generative AI is in the creation and distribution of deepfakes online, especially because the vast majority contain sexually explicit intimate depictions. In the past school year (2023-2024), the rise of generative AI has collided with a long-standing problem in schools: the act of sharing non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII). K-12 schools are often the first to encounter large-scale manifestations of the risks and harms facing young people when it comes to technology, and NCII, both deepfake and authentic, is no exception. Over the past year, anecdotes of children being the perpetrators and victims of deepfake NCII have been covered by major news outlets, elevating concerns about how to curb the issue in schools. But just how widespread is NCII really? And how well equipped are schools to handle this challenge?

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) conducted surveys of public high school students and public middle and high school parents and teachers from July to August 2024 to understand the prevalence of deepfakes, NCII, and related issues in K-12 schools. CDT’s research contributes to better understanding these issues within the U.S. educational context, as research has not yet been publicly published that both quantifies the rising prevalence of deepfakes and NCII in K-12 schools and reflects the perspectives of teachers, parents, and students.

In short, concerns over the widespread nature of NCII, both authentic and deepfake, in public K-12 schools across the country are well-founded:

• NCII, both authentic and deepfake, is a significant issue in K-12 public schools: Students and teachers report substantial amounts of NCII, both authentic and deepfake, depicting individuals associated with their school being shared in the past school year (2023-2024), with the primary perpetrators and victims being students.
• Female and LGBTQ+ students are the most alert to the impact of NCII: Students and teachers report that female students are more often depicted in deepfake NCII that is shared by their classmates, and both female and LGBTQ+ students say that they have lower levels of confidence in their schools’ ability to prevent and respond to the increasing threat of deepfake NCII.
• Schools are not doing enough to prevent students from sharing NCII: Very few teachers report that their schools have policies and procedures that proactively address the spread of authentic and deepfake NCII. Instead, schools reactively respond once there has been an incident at their school. This unfortunately leaves many students and parents in the dark and seeking answers from schools that are ill-equipped to provide them.?
• When schools do respond, they focus heavily on imposing serious consequences on perpetrators without providing support to victims of NCII: Both students and teachers report perpetrators receiving harsh penalties, including expulsion, long-term suspension, and referrals to law enforcement. But students and teachers say that schools provide few resources for victims of NCII, like counseling or help removing damaging content from social media.
• While stakeholders inside the school building, like students and teachers, report that NCII in all its forms is a significant issue in K-12 schools, parents find themselves out of the loop: Parents are significantly less aware of these threats or the harms that they pose. At the same time, parents agree that more education of students is needed and feel they should play a primary role in providing it.?

Although addressing NCII, both authentic and deepfake, will require a long-term, multistakeholder approach, one thing is clear – NCII has a significant effect on students, and schools need to do more now to protect them from its harms and create a learning environment that is free from sexual harassment. Efforts to do so should center on bolstering prevention measures, improving victim support, and engaging parents.

Read the full report.