UK schools should remove pupils’ online photos as AI blackmail threat grows, say experts

An unnamed UK secondary school has been subjected to a blackmail attempt, according to the Internet Watch Foundation. Photograph: Andrew Brookes/Getty Images/Image Source

UK schools should remove pictures of pupils’ faces from their websites and social media accounts because blackmailers are using them to create sexually explicit images, experts have said.

Child safety experts and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) warn that criminals are using AI to manipulate photos of children and then demand cash not to publish them.