Australia's eSafety Commissioner Warns of Rising AI Deepfake Risks to Children

• •AI deepfakes are increasingly used to create harmful content targeting children.
• •The eSafety Commissioner is advocating for stronger regulations and a Digital Duty of Care bill.
• •Generative AI poses risks for both child safety and the spread of extremist content.

Australia's eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant, is set to testify before federal parliament regarding the escalating risks posed by AI deepfakes, particularly to children. The commission has noted a surge in incidents where teenage boys create and share sexualized AI deepfake images of girls, prompting the introduction of a school-based reporting system. Despite enforcement actions leading to the withdrawal of several AI nudify services from Australia, the commission admits limitations in addressing non-sexual deepfakes that may still cause harm. Concerns extend to the potential use of generative AI by terrorists to spread extremist content and the outsourcing of coercive control in abusive relationships to AI. The Digital Duty of Care bill aims to shift responsibility onto platforms for user safety, with a final report expected by the end of November.