Pennsylvania private school asks court to dismiss AI nude lawsuit

In short: A private Pennsylvania school is asking a court to throw out a lawsuit from students who say the school stayed quiet while AI-made nude images spread.

What happened

Lancaster Country Day School, a private K-12 school in Pennsylvania with fewer than 600 students, filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by girls who say they were harmed by AI-generated nude images made of them.

The girls’ complaint says at least 59 students were targeted with “deepfake” nudes. Deepfakes are fake images made with AI (like using software to paste a person’s face into a new photo). The lawsuit says the school did not warn families for months and did not do enough to protect students.

The school argues it did not ignore the issue. It says the original tip came from the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, which the school describes as a law enforcement agency, and that the school reported back what it found. The school also says the tip did not name victims, the school never saw the images, and the activity happened off campus.

Two male students have pleaded guilty to 59 felony counts of sexual abuse of children, according to the report. The girls’ lawsuit also accuses the school of violating Title IX, a federal law that requires schools to address sex-based harassment.

Why it matters

This case highlights a gap in current laws. The school argues Pennsylvania’s child abuse reporting rules do not clearly cover AI-made sexual images of minors. Lawmakers are trying to update the law, and the court’s decision could affect how quickly schools must involve police in similar cases.

Source: Arstechnica