St Ignatius’ College principal Lauren Brooks writes to parents about student’s suspension

A private school student has been suspended ‘indefinitely’ over the incident and now the college has notified parents. Read the letter.

• Student suspended in deepfake shock

St Ignatius’ College parents have been told that a student was suspended over “misuse of a digital platform” – but not that it was a deepfake image of a teacher.

The Advertiser revealed on Thursday that the student, believed to be a teen boy in the senior school, had been suspended after the discovery of a deepfake.

In a statement, principal Lauren Brooks told The Advertiser the school had contacted police, but that is not mentioned in an email to parents.

The email, sent early Thursday evening, also does not mention that a staff member was affected, although Ms Brooks told The Advertiser they were “being supported”.

There is no suggestion the deepfake produced by the student is sexually explicit.

Saint Ignatius’ College principal Lauren Brooks has written to parents about the suspension of a student. Picture: Saint Ignatius’ College

In the email to parents, seen by The Advertiser, Ms Brooks said she was “writing to inform you about a matter that has been brought to the College’s attention”.

“As a consequence of misuse of a digital platform, a student has been suspended indefinitely,” she wrote.

“We are taking this matter seriously and are working to support all involved, keeping their wellbeing our top priority.

“Our students know that we expect high standards of personal conduct and respect for others.”

The revelations come after the state government announced it would back laws to crack down on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate violent or sexually explicit deepfake images, audio or video.

And it follows a spate of cases interstate in which teens who have allegedly created such content have been suspended and investigated by police.

There have been a spate of cases interstate in which teens have allegedly created deepfakes of classmates. Picture: iStock

Current South Australian laws cover the distribution of humiliating, invasive or indecent deepfakes that have altered the image, or video footage, of a real person.

The new laws, drafted by SA Best MLC Connie Bonaros, make it clear that content wholly created by AI is also covered.

Offenders would face up to four years in jail or fines of up to $20,000.

In her email to parents, Ms Brooks stressed that the school had “invested considerable effort in educating our students about the significant risks these platforms pose to their safety and dignity and that of others”.

“Whilst we appreciate this is a challenging space for young people, we have incredibly high standards of every Ignatian student,” she wrote.

“All our students must be accountable for their actions and the consequences that accompany them.”

SA Police said the school had “been in contact” but no official report had been made “at this time”.

For support visit esafety.gov.au or phone 1800 RESPECT.

Originally published as St Ignatius’ College principal Lauren Brooks writes to parents about student’s suspension