AI ‘Jokes’ Could Land Teens in Serious Trouble

It’s Safeguarding Week, and Police are sounding the alarm on a growing problem: people using Artificial Intelligence to create dodgy or sexualised images of others, sometimes as a ‘joke’, sometimes as a trend, sometimes without thinking at all.

The warning is clear: if you’re creating or sharing inappropriate AI-generated images of someone, you could actually be committing a criminal offence under the Sexual Offences and Obscene Publications Act 2021.

And yes, that can mean a prison sentence of up to three years. Not quite the TikTok or Instagram laugh people think they’re having.

The police say many children and teens simply don’t realise this.

AI can whip up frighteningly realistic photos in seconds, and what might feel like harmless fun in a group chat can very quickly turn into something far more serious, for both the person in the image and the person who made it.

Officers are urging parents, carers, teachers and anyone who looks after young people to talk openly about it, how AI works, what’s legal, what definitely isn’t, and why once an image hits the internet, it’s basically out there forever.

You can delete it from your phone, sure, but not from everyone else’s.

If you’re concerned about someone’s safety or think something troubling is happening online, the police want to hear from you.

You can ring Police HQ on 01624 631212, call 999 in an emergency, or report anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.