Schools have been warned to stop posting photos and videos of students online, as the eSafety regulator seeks to combat an increase in AI-generated deepfakes of children and teachers.
The eSafety Commissioner in July released an advisory warning schools about the risk of publicly sharing photos of students and teachers and offering advice about how to respond to harmful content.
School photos used for deepfakes
Between January and March 2026, the eSafety Commissioner received more than 100 reports about anonymous accounts targeting schools and school staff.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said many cases involving AI-generated deepfake child sexual exploitation material originated from school settings.
“Behind each of these reports are real people – teachers, school staff and students – who are facing humiliation, reputation damage and distress,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald.
The eSafety Commissioner’s warning comes as schools increasingly share images of students and teachers online to boost enrolments, promote the school and build community.
University of NSW professor Michael Salter said there is no risk-free way to share images and videos of children online, “and particularly kids in school uniform”.
“Unfortunately, children in uniforms intersects with some of the worst online appetites,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Earlier this year, independent Brisbane secondary school Brigidine College decided to restrict the amount and type of images of students it shares publicly due to concerns about image manipulation.
Griffith University criminologist Danielle Harris said best practice would be for schools not to post any images of students.
“Quite frankly, there is no good reason for a school to be posting identifiable photographs of children on their website,” she told the ABC.
“If AI is able to do what it can do, why not put AI children on their websites and protect … the community’s most vulnerable?”