In a first for the UK, Essex Police has partnered with mobile network provider EE and its parent company, BT, to launch a campaign aimed at protecting families from the growing threat of deepfakes.
The initiative, called ‘Fake or Real? Know the Deal,’ provides practical advice to young people, parents, guardians, and teachers on how to use AI safely and respond to harmful AI-generated images.
The collaboration directly addresses the risks posed by deepfake technology, which can be used to create highly convincing, yet completely false, images and videos. While many AI apps are used for positive, educational, or creative purposes, they also carry the potential for “immeasurable harm,” according to police.
Starting Thursday, Nov. 27, “helpful advice” will be hosted on EE’s LearnSmart platform. Furthermore, beginning in February, EE stores across Essex will offer dedicated in-store appointments focused on educating families about AI safety. This move integrates online safety guidance directly into the moment a user might be purchasing a new device.
“This is the first time a UK police force has worked directly with a global technology firm to advise parents about how to use new AI technology safely, from the moment they buy their device,” an Essex Police statement noted.
The risks behind the tech
The urgency behind this partnership is driven by the use of deepfake technology in serious crime. The primary concern is the creation of fake explicit images that target young people.
Detective Inspector Emma Portfleet, who leads the force’s Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT), highlighted the severity of the threat: “We have started to see AI apps used to manipulate or create sexualized images. If they are of someone under 18 years, then that’s illegal; which means not only prosecution for the offenders, but also lifelong harm to victims.”
DI Portfleet explained that the campaign aims to get “ahead of the problem,” stressing that while Essex Police will always investigate crime, they “would far rather stop it happening in the first place.”
The campaign website offers guidance on what to do if a child becomes a victim, including action steps for removing harmful images and reporting the incident to police. The Cambridge-based Internet Watch Foundation also offers the Report Remove tool in partnership with Childline, which is designed to remove sexual images of children from the internet.
The deepfake disaster: A global threat that knows no borders
While the UK campaign in Essex is important for protecting youth, the misuse of AI presents a massive, global challenge affecting politics, finance, and ethics.
Deepfakes are now sophisticated enough to overwhelm trust systems. Globally, scammers use AI voice and video cloning to commit massive fraud; one US victim lost over $431,000 after being convinced by a celebrity deepfake. In addition, AI is weaponized for highly personalized terror, as seen when a Florida judge was targeted with a graphic, AI-generated video simulating her own murder.
The threat extends to public life, where deepfakes are used for political disinformation. The BBC reported that a UK Conservative MP filed a report with police over a “bogus video” that appeared to show him defecting to a rival party.
EE Retail Director Asif Aziz OBE noted that “growing up in an online world can be difficult,” and that the goal is to help young people and their parents “better navigate the online world with confidence and positivity.”
Whether through fraud, political interference, or the illegal creation of explicit images, the technology is blurring the lines between the real and digital worlds, creating a pressing need for advanced countermeasures worldwide.
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