THORN'S "DEEPFAKE NUDES & YOUNG PEOPLE: NAVIGATING A NEW FRONTIER IN TECHNOLOGY-FACILITATED NONCONSENSUAL SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION”

Drawing on a survey of 1,200 young people aged 13-20, Thorn’s research explores their awareness of deepfake nudes, lived experiences with them, and their involvement in creating such content.

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The report was commissioned and published by Thorn — an organization with a mission to transform how children are protected from sexual abuse and exploitation.

The report highlights a critical moment in the fight against technology-facilitated abuse. Deepfake nudes, once a niche technological novelty, have rapidly evolved into a tangible threat, particularly for young people.

The increasing mainstream adoption of generative AI technologies has amplified the ease with which abusive behaviors can be carried out, normalizing the creation and distribution of explicit imagery even without direct access to victims.

These technologies intersect with longstanding vulnerabilities in child safety, enabling harm at an unprecedented scale and complicating societal clarity about the unequivocal harms of image-based sexual abuse.

Yet, as has often been the case with emerging technologies, safeguards against misuse have lagged behind deployment, leaving gaps in prevention and response. Addressing these behaviors and their facilitation by technology requires a unified and forward-looking approach.