Deepfake: Schoolgirls 14 to 17 Shouldn't Have Faced Suspect

Deepfake: Schoolgirls 14 to 17 Shouldn't Have Faced Suspect

Full Episode Transcript

---

Parents of schoolgirls between fourteen and seventeen in Seremban, Malaysia, went to police after explicit A.I.-made images of their daughters began circulating.

---

A Form Five student at the same school is the suspect

A Form Five student at the same school is the suspect.

And in the middle of that investigation, the question became whether those girls should ever have been put in the same room with him.

If you've ever posted a photo of yourself or your kid online, this story is about you.

Anyone with a face on the internet can be turned into an image they never agreed to.

That's unsettling, and it's reasonable to feel that way.

Here's what's known. Parents and guardians of the girls lodged police reports.

The suspect is a classmate, not a stranger.

And according to related coverage, one investigating officer claimed no criminal elements were involved.

That officer suggested the matter be left to education authorities.

---

The real story isn't only the images

So the real story isn't only the images.

It's what happens to a child after she reports them.

Does the investigation protect her, or does it add to the harm?

Start with the law, because it's already clear.

Last April in Johor, police arrested a sixteen-year-old student.

According to Malay Mail, he was accused of selling deepfake porn of his schoolmates.

He was charged under Section two ninety-two of the Penal Code.

He was also charged under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act of twenty seventeen.

So Malaysian prosecutors have already treated this as a serious crime.

---

Compare that with an officer in Seremban saying

Compare that with an officer in Seremban saying there's nothing criminal here.

Same kind of images. Same country. Very different response.

That gap is the heart of this story.

The law says prison. The procedure says paperwork.

For a family, that means the answer you get may depend on which officer picks up your report.

Now consider what the victims go through.

Researchers who study victims of deepfake abuse describe trauma, anxiety, and a loss of trust in other people.

Some victims damage their reputations through no fault of their own.

Some pull away from school, friends, and work entirely.

---

Imagine being fifteen and carrying all of that

Imagine being fifteen and carrying all of that.

Then imagine walking into a police station.

Reporting from the C.B.C. in Canada shows what that can look like.

Multiple women in an Ottawa deepfake investigation said police processes weren't trauma-informed.

That means the process wasn't built with a hurt person in mind.

They described being shocked by how casually officers told them about graphic content.

They said they felt dismissed.

That's a different country, and the same pattern.

So it isn't one bad officer in one town.

---

It's a procedure designed for burglaries and fender

It's a procedure designed for burglaries and fender benders, now being used on a new kind of harm.

Academic research in a journal called Substantive Justice points to what victims actually need.

Reporting has to be easier.

Images have to come down fast.

And victims need access to psychological help.

According to the research, none of that is standard in current deepfake investigations.

Police do have a fair point.

They have to gather evidence and build a case, and that can mean showing someone the content or dealing with the suspect.

But the research argues that victim-centered steps help here.

---