Fairfax High School investigates inappropriate images shared online

FAIRFAX DISTRICT, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles Unified School District on Tuesday said it was investigating "allegations of inappropriate photos being created and disseminated within the Fairfax High School community." Meanwhile, a bill targeting AI-generated child pornography continued to makes its way through the California Legislature.

In a statement, the school district said the allegations "are taken seriously, do not reflect the values of the Los Angeles Unified community and will result in appropriate disciplinary action if warranted."

A preliminary investigation indicated that the images were allegedly created and shared on a third-party messaging app unaffiliated with the district, which was not named in the statement. Whether artificial intelligence was used in the incident was unclear.

"Los Angeles Unified remains steadfast in providing training on the ethical use of technology - including A.I. - and is committed to enhancing education around digital citizenship, privacy and safety for all in our school communities," the news release said.

The incident at Fairfax High School follows several sexual abuse cases involving AI that have recently surfaced in Southern California. Last month, five eighth graders were expelled from Beverly Vista Middle School in Beverly Hills for using AI to create nude images of classmates.

A student at Calabasas High School is accused of a similar act and distributing the images to others in the school. Last week, Laguna Beach High School launched an investigation into one of its students for doing the same.

On Tuesday, a California bill that aims to crack down on AI-generated child pornography made it past an early hurdle in Sacramento.

The AI-generated photos may have been shared among students through text messages. Parents of students at the school were notified about the incident last week.

AB 1831 passed through the Assembly's Public Safety Committee hearing and will go before the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee next week.

The bill is designed to close a loophole in the state's current child pornography laws that ban making, distributing or possessing child sexual abuse material as long as it is an actual child, overlooking computer-generated images that may look like a child.

Supporters of the bill say the AI-generated material often uses the faces of actual children and victimizes them when those images are distributed.