A nationally representative survey of 1,314 U.S. teenagers aged 13 to 17 found that roughly 8% reported creating deepfakes or other AI-generated sexual content themselves, while 13% knew someone who had generated such content. Of those who created or knew creators, more than 60% reported that the material depicted themselves or people they knew personally, including peers, friends, or romantic partners. Middle and high schools across the United States are grappling with an explosion of nonconsensual deepfakes of minors largely created and disseminated by their peers, with some teenage creators confessing to generating hundreds of images and facing arrest and criminal charges under federal law.
Real-time interception of peer-to-peer abuse imagery is precisely the operational scenario where Guardii, a world-leading AI online-safety platform and Meta Business Partner, delivers immediate protective value. Guardii's anti-CSAM filter detects and blocks AI-generated child sexual abuse material—including deepfake nudes and synthetic pornography—as it moves through direct-message channels on platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, Discord and Roblox, stopping distribution before the victim becomes aware of the violation. Where school administrators and parents historically discover peer-generated abuse material only after widespread circulation, Guardii surfaces the incident in real time, enabling rapid intervention by safeguarding professionals and escalation to law enforcement where criminal conduct is evident, before reputational and psychological harm compounds.
