About This Lesson
In 2024, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) conducted surveys of public high school students and public middle and high school parents and teachers to understand the prevalence of deepfakes, NCII, and related issues in K-12 schools. These surveys showed that concerns over the widespread nature of NCII were well-founded, and that there were significant gaps in schools’ current capabilities to handle the issue. Namely, efforts to educate students about NCII, prevent the conduct, and provide support to those who have experienced NCII were sparse.
Although addressing NCII, both authentic and deepfake, will require a long-term, multistakeholder approach, CDT convened a taskforce of diverse stakeholders and advocates to create a Model NCII Policy for K-12 schools as a first step toward filling the gaps identified in our research. Specifically, the Model NCII Policy:
- Outlines the offense of sharing NCII;
- States the school's role in circumstances where NCII has been shared by/of a member of the school community;
- Promotes visibility of reporting mechanisms and supportive measures for those impacted by the sharing of NCII; and
- Provides customizable language that schools/districts can choose to integrate the policy into existing Title IX, bullying/harassment, and/or digital citizenship policies.
CDT also created an infographic to prevent and support victims of NCII that includes tips and resources about deepfake NCII. The infographic is intended to be useful in a number of formats, whether as a poster, a hand-out, or shared in its digital format.
