Experts in the United Kingdom are warning schools to remove student photos from websites and social media accounts as criminals increasingly use artificial intelligence tools to create fake explicit images for blackmail. Child safety groups and law enforcement officials say online photos of pupils are now being targeted by cybercriminals. The warning comes after several incidents where school images were manipulated using AI technology to create illegal and sexually explicit content. The concern has grown after a UK secondary school reportedly became the target of an extortion attempt linked to AI-generated abuse images. According to the Internet Watch Foundation, criminals copied student photos from the school’s website or social media pages and altered them with AI tools to produce fake child sexual abuse material. The criminals later contacted the school and demanded money while threatening to publish the manipulated images online. The case alarmed child protection experts because many of the generated pictures could be classified as illegal under UK law. The Internet Watch Foundation said it created digital fingerprints, known as hashes, from the fake images. Those fingerprints were then shared with major technology companies to stop the images from spreading online. The organization said about 150 manipulated images connected to the incident could fall under UK child sexual abuse material laws. Jess Phillips described the threat as deeply worrying. She warned that the British government may introduce stronger laws if current protections fail to stop the growing misuse of AI technology. Phillips also pointed to recent efforts by the government to ban AI models designed specifically to generate child sexual abuse material. Safety experts now believe schools should reconsider how they use student photos online. A UK advisory group focused on online harms issued new recommendations to schools across the country. The group advised schools to avoid posting clear front-facing photos of students whenever possible. Instead, schools were encouraged to use distant images, blurred pictures, or photos taken from behind children. The guidance also suggested schools should think carefully about whether they need to use student images online at all. Experts said schools can still celebrate student success and school activities without sharing identifiable photos or full names. The warning also urged schools to improve privacy settings on websites and social media accounts to reduce the risk of criminals downloading and reusing images. The advisory group recommended regular reviews of school websites, social media pages, and promotional materials to remove unnecessary photos. Schools were also advised to regularly update parental consent agreements connected to student photography. If a school becomes the target of blackmail, the guidance says staff should contact police immediately and keep evidence connected to the crime. The advisory body includes several major organizations such as the NSPCC, the National Crime Agency, and the Welsh government. Education leaders say the threat has created a difficult situation for schools. Leora Cruddas said schools naturally want to celebrate student achievements through photos and videos. However, she added that growing threats from scammers and abusers are forcing schools to rethink how they share content online. The crime behind these attacks is often known as sextortion. In many cases, criminals threaten victims with fake or real intimate images to demand money or more explicit content. Experts say generative AI has made these crimes easier because criminals can now create realistic fake images from ordinary social media photos. The issue has become especially serious for teenagers and children. Authorities say several young people in Britain have faced severe emotional distress after becoming victims of sextortion attempts. In some tragic cases, sextortion has been linked to teen suicides in the UK. The Report Remove service reported a sharp rise in blackmail complaints from children last year. The organization said hundreds of under-18s reported being threatened after predators manipulated them into sharing sexual images or used fake AI-generated content against them. Law enforcement officials believe some of these criminal operations are connected to organized gangs based outside the UK, including networks operating in parts of West Africa. Some schools have already started changing their online policies because of the growing risk. The Loughborough Schools Foundation reportedly redesigned its website last year to remove recognizable images of students. Experts now warn that more schools may need to take similar action as AI technology becomes more powerful and easier for criminals to access.