New guidance on protecting children’s images from AI misuse
Protecting your setting’s images from AI manipulation and abuse is newly published UK‑wide guidance developed by the UK Online Harms Early Warning Working Group and supported by governments and leading safeguarding organisations across the UK. It responds to growing concerns about how images of children and young people shared online can be misused or manipulated using artificial intelligence.
Education settings regularly use photographs and videos across websites, social media and other digital spaces. However, rapid advances in artificial intelligence mean that images shared online can now be manipulated or misused in ways that may cause harm to children and young people.
Why this is important
Protecting children’s images is a core safeguarding responsibility, not just a matter of data protection or reputation. The duty to safeguard children and young people extends to online environments, and poor image security can increase the risk of image-based abuse, including AI-generated manipulation which can impact both learners and school staff.
About the guidance
The guidance provides practical advice for education settings, including:
when and how images of children and young people should be used
strengthening consent, storage and review processes
reducing risk across websites and social media
what to do if images are misused, altered or abused, including reporting and support routes
What schools and settings should do
Schools and education settings are encouraged to read the guidance and consider whether any changes are needed to current policies, procedures or practice.