AI Tools Increase the Risk of Children's Content Online: Technical Steps to Limit Spread of Minors' Images
New artificial intelligence (AI) tools are raising additional concerns about the cautious posting of minors' images on the internet.
Parents naturally wish to share their children's innocent laughter, moments of joy, and noteworthy achievements with the world. On the other hand, most people understand the need to refrain from sharing images of children and adolescents frequently online.
Real and Fake Images
The risks of sharing minors’ images and videos on websites and social media are well-known; these can be exploited for bullying or abuse by strangers. Now, we face the emerging threat of rapidly evolving AI tools, which use real images to create “deepfake” content.
According to Heather Kelly, a technology news expert based in Washington, these scenarios are already happening. Last year, students from a high school in New Jersey used AI tools to concoct sexual imagery of their peers based on "real photos." In another incident, a pupil from Issaquah High School in Washington used real photos of classmates to fabricate sexual images that were circulated. In Spain, parents of over 20 girls aged between 11 and 17 revealed that their daughters' photos were subjected to AI alterations to create pornographic images.
Wael Abdul Majid, a prominent scientist and research director at the Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California, notes that AI tools "need no more than a single image. You can train AI to pick someone's facial features, which means AI can select any child's features and replace them in a video."
Internet Photos are Permanent
How many images and videos can truly be deleted? There is no magic "delete" button to eliminate all of a person’s photos and videos from the internet. It's straightforward if you already know which content you want to remove. If you're dealing with a child who has a sizeable online following, the task is challenging and nearly impossible.
Abdul Majid remarks on this, saying, "What is displayed on the internet remains on the internet and cannot simply disappear."
Photos and videos are shared and reshared; companies store and archive copies of them, or they can be saved and disseminated in encrypted chats or on the dark web. Even removing a minor’s photo from Google's search results does not pull it completely from the internet, as it remains on the hosting site.
Whether removal aims to cleanse the past or control the future, keeping digital data offline is a significant commitment and may be impractical for most families. Ivora Hitenr, author of the book "Growing Up Public - Aging in a Digital World," suggests thinking ahead and giving children the liberty to decide whether and where they want to share their images online.
Deleting Images from Sites and Platforms
How does the deletion process work on Google, TikTok, and Facebook? Most major tech companies have a system for requesting image removal. Writer Heather Kelly provides an overview of these systems for Google, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, but there are exceptions since not all images can be deleted. As your children grow older, you may also confront the issue of them wanting to share more about themselves online than you are comfortable with most services allow minors to create their own accounts once they reach 13 years of age.
Google Search, Google Images, Google Drive: Minors, their guardians, or any authorized representative can request to remove content, whether an image, video, or text, from Google's search results using a form available on the company's website. However, the request only removes content from Google's results, not from the original site. Moreover, Google might deny the removal if the content is on your personal social media page or if the images serve the public interest such as if the child is well-known or the photo is from a significant event.
The process takes a few days, and if the image is on Google Images or Google Drive, you can report it accordingly on the site. If the image continues to appear in search results despite its removal, there are tools you can use.
YouTube: A minor or their legal representative can request the removal of a video from YouTube by filling out a form on the site. YouTube has included AI-generated content in its policies so that users can request its removal as well.
Facebook and Instagram: These platforms allow only parents to request the removal of content for minors under 13 years old. If the user is between 13 and 17, they must make the deletion request themselves.
TikTok: To request the removal of a minor's video from TikTok, the person featured in the video or the legal guardian must fill out a privacy form available on the site. The process begins by selecting "Report a Privacy Violation" from the options menu. While posting content of a minor without their permission does not violate the platform's standards, the company says it is compelled to remove it upon reporting.
Identifying the Required Images
How do you find the images you want to be removed? Start with a Google search using the minor's name, look through your own and your family’s social media accounts, and check with schools and clubs that your child attended. For reverse image searches specific to a picture, go to images.google.com and click the camera icon to search with the image.
Controversial facial recognition companies such as Clearview AI and PimEyes rely on a single image of a person to track its matches on the internet. Unfortunately, these services are not designed to help individuals seeking to protect their privacy. PimEyes offers its services to everyone, but recently stated it would no longer include images reported as minors in its AI systems. Clearview states that its database is intended for use by entities such as law enforcement, not individuals.
What About the Future?
It is easier to set rules and laws for sharing content in the future rather than cleaning up the past. When it comes to young children, this responsibility falls on the shoulders of the adults around them.
It’s advisable to share images and videos of your children with privacy, with the safest method being encrypted chat groups such as Apple’s iMessage or Signal. If you prefer the broader reach of social media, post family pictures with blurred faces or use “disappearing” options like Instagram stories. Of course, you should communicate these preferences to extended family members, such as informing your grandfather that you do not want your baby's pictures shared on Facebook.
Real and Fake Images
The risks of sharing minors’ images and videos on websites and social media are well-known; these can be exploited for bullying or abuse by strangers. Now, we face the emerging threat of rapidly evolving AI tools, which use real images to create “deepfake” content.
According to Heather Kelly, a technology news expert based in Washington, these scenarios are already happening. Last year, students from a high school in New Jersey used AI tools to concoct sexual imagery of their peers based on "real photos." In another incident, a pupil from Issaquah High School in Washington used real photos of classmates to fabricate sexual images that were circulated. In Spain, parents of over 20 girls aged between 11 and 17 revealed that their daughters' photos were subjected to AI alterations to create pornographic images.
Wael Abdul Majid, a prominent scientist and research director at the Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California, notes that AI tools "need no more than a single image. You can train AI to pick someone's facial features, which means AI can select any child's features and replace them in a video."
Internet Photos are Permanent
How many images and videos can truly be deleted? There is no magic "delete" button to eliminate all of a person’s photos and videos from the internet. It's straightforward if you already know which content you want to remove. If you're dealing with a child who has a sizeable online following, the task is challenging and nearly impossible.
Abdul Majid remarks on this, saying, "What is displayed on the internet remains on the internet and cannot simply disappear."
Photos and videos are shared and reshared; companies store and archive copies of them, or they can be saved and disseminated in encrypted chats or on the dark web. Even removing a minor’s photo from Google's search results does not pull it completely from the internet, as it remains on the hosting site.
Whether removal aims to cleanse the past or control the future, keeping digital data offline is a significant commitment and may be impractical for most families. Ivora Hitenr, author of the book "Growing Up Public - Aging in a Digital World," suggests thinking ahead and giving children the liberty to decide whether and where they want to share their images online.
Deleting Images from Sites and Platforms
How does the deletion process work on Google, TikTok, and Facebook? Most major tech companies have a system for requesting image removal. Writer Heather Kelly provides an overview of these systems for Google, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, but there are exceptions since not all images can be deleted. As your children grow older, you may also confront the issue of them wanting to share more about themselves online than you are comfortable with most services allow minors to create their own accounts once they reach 13 years of age.
Google Search, Google Images, Google Drive: Minors, their guardians, or any authorized representative can request to remove content, whether an image, video, or text, from Google's search results using a form available on the company's website. However, the request only removes content from Google's results, not from the original site. Moreover, Google might deny the removal if the content is on your personal social media page or if the images serve the public interest such as if the child is well-known or the photo is from a significant event.
The process takes a few days, and if the image is on Google Images or Google Drive, you can report it accordingly on the site. If the image continues to appear in search results despite its removal, there are tools you can use.
YouTube: A minor or their legal representative can request the removal of a video from YouTube by filling out a form on the site. YouTube has included AI-generated content in its policies so that users can request its removal as well.
Facebook and Instagram: These platforms allow only parents to request the removal of content for minors under 13 years old. If the user is between 13 and 17, they must make the deletion request themselves.
TikTok: To request the removal of a minor's video from TikTok, the person featured in the video or the legal guardian must fill out a privacy form available on the site. The process begins by selecting "Report a Privacy Violation" from the options menu. While posting content of a minor without their permission does not violate the platform's standards, the company says it is compelled to remove it upon reporting.
Identifying the Required Images
How do you find the images you want to be removed? Start with a Google search using the minor's name, look through your own and your family’s social media accounts, and check with schools and clubs that your child attended. For reverse image searches specific to a picture, go to images.google.com and click the camera icon to search with the image.
Controversial facial recognition companies such as Clearview AI and PimEyes rely on a single image of a person to track its matches on the internet. Unfortunately, these services are not designed to help individuals seeking to protect their privacy. PimEyes offers its services to everyone, but recently stated it would no longer include images reported as minors in its AI systems. Clearview states that its database is intended for use by entities such as law enforcement, not individuals.
What About the Future?
It is easier to set rules and laws for sharing content in the future rather than cleaning up the past. When it comes to young children, this responsibility falls on the shoulders of the adults around them.
It’s advisable to share images and videos of your children with privacy, with the safest method being encrypted chat groups such as Apple’s iMessage or Signal. If you prefer the broader reach of social media, post family pictures with blurred faces or use “disappearing” options like Instagram stories. Of course, you should communicate these preferences to extended family members, such as informing your grandfather that you do not want your baby's pictures shared on Facebook.
