Spanish teen investigated for selling AI deepfake nudes of sixteen classmates

Spanish police are investigating a 17-year-old boy for allegedly using artificial intelligence to create and sell deepfake nude images of female classmates in Valencia. Sixteen young women from the same educational institute reported that AI-generated naked images of them were circulating on social media, highlighting a growing trend of non-consensual deepfake abuse targeting minors in Spain.

What you should know: The investigation began after a teenage girl reported in December that AI-generated videos and fake photos showing her “completely naked” were posted on a social media account created under her name.

• Photos of various people, all of them minors, appeared on this account, with all images manipulated so the people in them appeared completely naked, according to the Spanish Civil Guard.
• The 17-year-old suspect is being investigated for alleged corruption of minors and reportedly was selling the manipulated images.

Legal landscape: Spain currently lacks specific legislation criminalizing AI-generated non-consensual sexual imagery, though the government has proposed changes.

• In March, Spanish authorities announced plans to introduce a law treating deepfaked sexual imagery created without consent as a criminal offense.
• The proposed bill has not yet been passed by parliament, leaving a legal gap in addressing this emerging form of digital abuse.

Pattern of abuse: This case represents the latest in a series of similar incidents involving Spanish minors using AI to create non-consensual intimate images.

• In September 2023, 15 minors in Extremadura were investigated for using AI to produce fake naked images of female schoolmates.
• Those students were later sentenced to a year’s probation, marking one of the first legal consequences for AI-enabled image abuse involving minors in Spain.

Why this matters: The case underscores the urgent need for legal frameworks to address AI-powered image manipulation targeting minors, as deepfake technology becomes increasingly accessible to teenagers while existing laws struggle to keep pace with digital abuse tactics.