Classmate Made AI Porn of My Child: What Should I Do?

In 2024, Smart Parenting launched the Smart Parenting Guide to Digital Parenting to meet the Filipino family's need for expert-backed, evidence-based guidance and reporting on raising children in the digital age. We've published longreads on why Filipinos need a guide for parenting kids in the face of digital advancements, imagining a Philippines with a social media ban for minors, and have continuously reported on cyberbullying. Keep visiting and following Smart Parenting to stay up to date.

One of the biggest concerns I hear from parents today is, "What if my child becomes the victim of a deepfake?"

It's a valid concern. Merriam-Webster defines deepfake as "a digital image, video, voice, etc. that has been convincingly generated or altered to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said". AI has made it incredibly easy for someone to take an ordinary photo and turn it into something sexual without that person's consent. It doesn't matter if the original photo was completely innocent. Someone can manipulate it in minutes and spread it online.

My daughter, Caia, is 15. I recently transferred her from a small international school to a larger, more traditional Catholic school. A bigger school means more students, more phones, more social media, and simply more opportunities for something like this to happen.

It made me stop and ask myself: What if it happened to my daughter?

RELATED READ: What to Say When Your Child Sees Porn: A Parent’s Script

As both a psychologist and a mom, I realized that most parents wouldn't know where to begin. We'd be angry. We'd want to protect our child. We'd probably want to confront the person responsible immediately. But what actually helps? What should you do first?

If you're reading this because it has happened to your family, I want you to remember three things.

1. Your child is not to blame.

2. Your anger is valid.

3. And there are practical steps you can take that will protect both your child and any future investigation.

Your first instinct might be to call the school, report the account, or confront the student who made the images. Resist that urge for a moment.

Talk to your child first.

Find a private place where they feel safe. Tell them what you know without accusing or interrogating them. Reassure them that this wasn't their fault and that you're going to help them through it.

Ask simple questions. Have they seen the images? How did they find out? Is anyone threatening or bullying them because of it?

Then listen.

Don’t make the conversation about gathering evidence. It's about making sure your child knows you're on their side. One thing I would avoid is asking questions that sound like blame, even unintentionally. Questions like, "Why did you post that picture?" or "Who did you send it to?" can make a child feel responsible for something that was done to them.

Your next step is documentation: Take screenshots of the images, messages, usernames, URLs, and dates. Save everything in one secure folder. I know this feels uncomfortable. Most parents want the images gone immediately. But once they're deleted, important evidence may disappear too. Having proper documentation will help if the school, the platform, or law enforcement needs to investigate.

Most social media platforms have reporting systems for non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated content. Report every post or account sharing the images. If your child is a minor, make that clear in your report. Removing the content quickly won't erase what happened, but it can reduce further sharing and limit the damage.

If another student is involved, the school needs to know. Send a written report explaining what happened and ask what steps they will take to protect your child while the incident is being investigated. Depending on your jurisdiction, you should also report the incident to law enforcement.

In the Philippines, creating or distributing sexualized images of a minor, even if they are AI-generated, violates laws such as the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC). The legal landscape around AI is still evolving, but that shouldn't stop you from making a report.

One of the biggest misconceptions about deepfakes is that people think, "The images aren't real, so the harm isn't real." That's simply not true. The violation is real. Your child's identity, face, and body were used without consent. They may feel embarrassed, ashamed, anxious, or afraid to go back to school. Some become hypervigilant online. Others withdraw completely. Don't dismiss those feelings by saying, "At least the pictures are fake."

Instead, acknowledge what happened. You can say, "What happened to you wasn't okay. It makes sense that you're upset." That simple validation can make a tremendous difference. If your child continues to struggle, don't hesitate to seek help from a mental health professional, especially someone experienced in trauma or working with adolescents.

After something like this happens, it's natural to want to take away every phone, every app, and every social media account. While some temporary changes may be necessary, remember that your goal isn't simply to protect your child today. It's to help them develop the skills they'll need for the rest of their life.

Talk about digital consent.

Teach them how to report abusive content.

Review privacy settings together.

Most importantly, make sure they know they can always come to you if something happens online. You want your child to think, "I need to tell my parent," not, "I'm going to get in trouble."

Deepfakes are one of the newest forms of digital abuse, but our response as parents hasn't changed. Believe your child. Protect them. Help them understand that this happened to them, not because of them. We can't control every tool that technology creates. But we can control how we respond when our children need us most. And sometimes, that's the thing they'll remember long after the images have disappeared.

At least that’s how I want my daughter to feel.

If your child or family has been affected by deepfakes or online sexual abuse, our team at Unprude is here to help. Book a confidential consultation with one of our psychologists or sex therapists at unprude.com.