Being accused of making, sending, or even sharing a “deepfake” image or video by someone at your college or university can be a devastating experience. Schools take deepfakes very seriously, and even if they do not have specific rules or prohibitions against deepfakes, they typically will have some provision in the code of conduct that prohibits harassing behavior. Depending on the situation, it can be very difficult to prove that you were not the source of a deepfake that features your image or someone else’s with whom you have a connection. The consequences can be severe – you could end up suspended or even expelled.
That is why you need the help of an experienced attorney if you have been accused of misconduct related to deepfakes. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is made up of attorneys who have defended students at colleges and universities across the country who have faced serious misconduct allegations. We know what’s at stake. We know what your rights are. And we know how to defend you. Call us at 888.535.3686, or fill out our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation with one of our attorneys.
College and University Deepfake Laws
A deepfake, for the uninitiated, is a photo or video image that is usually generated using an artificial intelligence-driven tool. These tools are remarkably adept at taking an image of someone’s face or body and using it to create an entirely different and realistic-looking photo or video. Deepfake technology can generate innocuous images that may not reasonably be considered ones that could cause any distress. But it can also be used to create sexually explicit or violent images and videos that could cause the person whose face or body appears in the deepfake to suffer legitimate emotional distress.
When it comes to deepfakes that focus on sexually explicit images, it is likely that schools will consider the misconduct to be a Title IX matter. Most schools have separate procedures in place to investigate and discipline students accused of Title IX misconduct. And while a number of states, as well as the federal government, have enacted laws that criminalize certain types of deepfakes, those laws apply to everyone and do not single out deepfakes in the college or university context.
What colleges and universities have been doing is including deepfake prohibitions in their school codes of conduct. Even in cases where the school’s conduct rules do not specifically prohibit deepfakes, when a deepfake is used to embarrass or harass another student, schools will typically be able to discipline the student responsible for the harassment. In other instances, the creation of deepfakes using school technology may violate the school’s ethical technology use policies – ones that similarly prohibit using school systems (including school-provided AI tools) in unethical or harmful ways.
State Deepfake Laws
While colleges and universities may not specifically prohibit deepfakes, more and more states do. State laws that criminalize deepfakes tend to focus on the creation or sharing of sexually explicit images or videos without the consent of the person whose identifiable image is used.
California, for example, prohibits the creation and distribution of AI-generated sexually-explicit images or videos when the person who distributes the AI content knows or should know that doing so will cause serious emotional distress. Those convicted face potential fines and jail time that vary depending on the age of the victim and whether it is the person’s first or subsequent offense.
Washington state prohibits the knowing distribution of a “forged digital likeness of another person as a genuine visual representation” when the intent is to “defraud, harass, threaten, or intimidate” another person and when the person distributing the likeness knows or reasonably should know that the likeness is not genuine. Violation is a gross misdemeanor.
New York prohibits the “unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image” with the intent to cause emotional harm. It includes in its scope “an image created or altered by digitization” where the person depicted may “reasonably be identified” and the person distributing the image knew or should have known that the person depicted did not consent to the image being distributed.
From the college and university perspective, if a student violates a state law of any type, it often gives the school one more reason to discipline the student. While schools obviously do not prosecute students for crimes, almost every school has a provision in its code of conduct that will allow the school to discipline a student who is arrested, who is charged with a crime, who pleads guilty or no contest to a crime, or who is convicted of a crime.
What’s more, schools are not bound by what happens in the criminal court. A student can get arrested for distributing a deepfake image of another student, and prosecutors may elect to drop the charges. Or the student may plead not guilty and be acquitted at trial. The school can still attempt to discipline that student. That is because the burden of proof in school disciplinary cases is typically lower than the burden of proof in criminal cases. So, as unfair as it may seem, the fact that the district attorney may have dropped deepfake charges against you does not mean you are immune from being disciplined by your school for the same alleged misconduct.
Federal Deepfake Laws
The federal government enacted a criminal deepfake law in 2025 that prohibits the intentional publication of a “digital forgery” of an “identifiable individual” without the consent of the individual, where “what is depicted was not voluntarily exposed” by the individual, and where the publication is intended to cause harm or does cause harm to the individual. Penalties can include up to 3 years in prison, depending on the circumstances.
Here, too, colleges can discipline students charged with the federal deepfake crime even if the charges are dropped or the student is acquitted.
It is important to keep this in mind. If you are facing criminal charges at the federal or state level relating to deepfakes, you need to make sure your criminal defense attorney understands that what happens in your criminal case can have an effect on your school disciplinary case. So too, what you say or do or admit in your school disciplinary case could affect your criminal case. You want to make sure you are well-defended in both cases, and that if you are using different attorneys to represent you in the two matters, they communicate with each other frequently.
College Policies That May Relate to Deepfakes
Relatively few colleges or universities have policies that specifically address the use of deepfake images by students. But almost all schools have comprehensive conduct policies that address bullying, harassment (and sexual harassment), and other types of misconduct that can easily apply in deepfake cases. That may change as deepfakes become more of a problem because schools may add policies that specifically reference deepfake misconduct. But even if they don’t, if a student makes or shares a hurtful deepfake image or video of another student without that student’s permission, schools already have conduct policies in place that will allow them to discipline the student responsible.
One thing that can help is to have a good understanding of what your school’s code of conduct is. Note that it doesn’t always go by that name, but every school has a set of rules that it expects students to follow. They may be included in a student handbook or in their own section of the school website. Most students don’t bother to read it, but doing so in advance can save you a lot of headaches.
It can take some effort, however, to actually find and read your school’s detailed conduct rules. The University of Texas, for example, has a “Standards of Conduct” webpage that includes a section titled “Code of Conduct.” But what follows is simply a broad summary of what the school expects from its students:
The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and the community.
This, of course, does not go into any detail whatsoever. As the school points out on the webpage, there are multiple sources for more detailed student conduct requirements. The main place to find out what the school expects of its students is on another page, where there is a comprehensive set of rules and procedures for “Student Conduct and Academic Integrity.” But the Standards of Conduct page also notes that the school’s University Housing and Dining has its own set of rules, as does Parking and Transportation Services.
When it comes to deepfakes, the University of Texas prohibits harassment, which it defines as “hostile or threatening conduct” that creates an “objectively hostile or threatening environment” that interferes with the ability of one or more specific target individuals to participate in the school’s various activities. The school also prohibits “disruptive conduct,” which is any conduct that “interferes with or disrupts” teaching, learning, or other school-related activities.
Another potential charge in a deepfake case could be Unauthorized Surveillance or Distribution. This form of misconduct involves making a recording “of any type” without the consent of the person being recorded in areas where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy. It also includes distributing such a recording without the consent of “all involved parties.
New York University is more direct. Its University Student Conduct Policy is relatively easy to find. It also goes into detail about prohibited conduct, conduct that happens outside of the university context, and how the school enforces the policy.
NYU’s Student Conduct Policy, like the one at the University of Texas, does not directly address deepfakes. But it also includes provisions that can be used in deepfake cases.
The school prohibits “threatening and abusive behavior,” which includes “sharing or widely distributing personal, private, and/or identifying information of another community member” with the intent of encouraging the harassment of that person. “Private information” in this context includes, among other things, “personal photos/videos” as well as “other personally identifying information.” Where deepfakes are concerned, the use of the target student’s image as part of the deepfake could satisfy this definition.
NYU also separately, in its Sexual Misconduct, Relationship Violence, and Stalking Policy, prohibits “Sexual Exploitation.” This means “Sexual Misconduct that involves non-consensual use of another individual’s nudity or sexuality.” It specifically includes “using artificial intelligence or another medium to create pictures, videos, or audio of another person engaging in a sexual act or in a state of undress.”
Each school has a different code of conduct and, as you can see from these examples, schools often have multiple codes of conduct that apply in different settings or contexts. Whether these codes directly address deepfakes or not, they are typically comprehensive enough so that if one student creates a deepfake image or video of another student, particularly a deepfake that is sexually explicit, and shares that deepfake, the student who created the deepfake can be disciplined.
And because these codes of conduct often go into extensive detail, they can sometimes be difficult to understand when applied to a particular situation. That is where the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help. Our experienced attorneys are dedicated to helping students who have been charged with misconduct by their schools. We understand how school conduct codes work, what the procedures are, and most importantly, what the rights of the accused student are. We know what standards schools must meet in order to impose discipline on a student, and we are ready to protect our client’s rights in any school misconduct proceeding.
Examples of College Deepfake Abuse
Not all deepfake abuse involves sexually explicit videos, but of course, much of it does. There are a number of stories involving students whose faces were used on nude images or in videos involving sexually explicit scenes. The videos were distributed on social networks, including X, shared in messaging services, or made available on various Internet forums.
But a deepfake can do more damage. It can appear to place a fully-clothed student in a situation that makes it appear as though the student is making unpopular political or social statements, targeting them for harassment by other students.
A deepfake can also depict a student committing a crime, such as vandalism, or consuming alcohol when underage, or taking illegal drugs. In these cases, the student who is the target of the deepfake may find themselves being disciplined by their school for the (false) conduct depicted in the deepfake.
This is why it is important to get help if you have been accused of deepfake misconduct. Whether you have been accused of creating or distributing a deepfake involving another student, or you have been accused of misconduct because a deepfake appears to show you committing a prohibited act, you need a strong defense. That is where the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help. We defend college students accused of misconduct all over the country on a daily basis. We will evaluate your situation, examine the deepfake in detail, and fight to protect your rights and defend you against the allegations you are facing.
College and University Deepfake Punishment
When it comes to disciplining students found to have committed misconduct, schools will keep their options open and won’t commit to a specific penalty for a specific type of misconduct. That means that if you are accused of making or distributing a deepfake in a way that violates your school misconduct code, you could face any of the following types of discipline, depending on the situation and your school’s policies:
- A verbal warning from a school administrator
- A written warning that may or may not become part of your academic record
- Probation, often with a requirement that you complete a course of some type, such as a student ethics course
- Suspension for a defined period of time; sometimes this may continue until the student targeted by the deepfake has graduated or left the school
- Expulsion from the school; in some cases, this is permanent, in others, you may be allowed to reapply after some years have passed
Of course, you want to avoid any situation where your academic record reflects that you’ve been disciplined by your college or university. In some cases, the school may allow you to petition to have the discipline removed from your transcript; the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help with this. But if your record includes disciplinary notes, it can affect your ability to transfer to another school, to enroll in graduate school, and to get a job.
This is why it is important to defend yourself if you have been accused of deepfake misconduct. And the best way to do this is with the help of an experienced student defense attorney from the LLF National Law Firm. We do this on a regular basis, day in and day out, and we know what it takes to protect your rights and to defend against your school’s disciplinary system.
Discipline for Off-Campus Deepfakes
Because deepfakes are distributed online, it is possible for a deepfake to harm someone who is not a student. If you’re accused of distributing or making a deepfake that targeted someone off-campus, that won’t necessarily save you from being disciplined by your school. Remember, most schools will reserve the right to discipline you for off-campus misconduct, if only on the grounds that it reflects badly on the school as a whole. And, as noted above, simply being arrested or charged with a crime can result in you being disciplined by your school, even if the authorities elect not to move forward with charges against you.
College and University Disciplinary Procedures
While all schools have their own conduct codes and disciplinary procedures, they tend to be similar in many ways. Most of them prohibit many of the same types of misconduct, and most of them process misconduct complaints in similar ways. The general steps that most schools follow include:
- Complaint. Schools will usually make it easy for students to file complaints against other students. They often have online forms that students can fill out and submit, and many schools will also accept complaints by email, over the phone, or in person.
- Evaluate. Complaints are typically evaluated to make sure they are about something that the school regulates. For example, a complaint that one student was rude to another, without more, may not result in any further action by the school.
- Investigate. If the complaint appears to cover misconduct that the school regulates, it may be assigned to an investigator. This is almost always the case with Title IX complaints – and deepfake videos and images that include sexually explicit content are typically processed under the school’s Title IX procedures. The investigator will almost always interview both the accused student and their accuser, and with a deepfake allegation, may want to examine the accused student’s computer or mobile phone.
- Report. When the investigator finishes, they will prepare a report that will summarize the evidence they have collected, and it may also include the investigator’s recommendation or conclusion about whether to move forward with the case against the accused student. Sometimes schools will allow the accused student to review the report draft and comment on it; it can be enormously helpful if this is allowed to have your student’s defense attorney involved at this point.
- Charge. If the investigator’s report supports it, the school may bring charges against the accused student. The charges may summarize the facts found by the investigator; indicate the portions of the school’s conduct code that the student is accused of violating; and propose a penalty. The student will typically be able to respond to the charges in writing – again, something that the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can help with.
- Negotiate. Almost all school disciplinary cases are resolved without a hearing. If you are represented by the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team, we can negotiate with the school to try to resolve your case in a way that protects your ability to continue at the school and minimizes the possibility that the discipline will impact your future.
- Hearing. Cases that aren’t settled will proceed to a hearing. The format of this will vary from school to school, but typically there will be a chance for witnesses to testify (and be cross-examined), and for both sides to introduce evidence. You do not want to try to defend yourself at the hearing stage; working with an experienced attorney from the LLF National Law Firm can make a significant difference in the strength of your defense.
- Decision. In some cases, the decision will come at the end of the hearing; in others, it will follow some time after. If the decision is in the accused student’s favor, the matter will be closed. If it goes against the student, it may also indicate the penalty the school is imposing on the student; in other cases, the penalty may be determined by school administrators based on the decision.
The LLF National Law Firm can Defend You Against Deepfake Charges
At the LLF National Law Firm, our experienced student defense attorneys know what it takes to protect the rights of our student clients and to defend them in school misconduct investigations and proceedings. We know the laws, regulations, school policies, and procedures that apply in school misconduct cases. We regularly represent students accused of all types of misconduct by schools all across the country.
If you have been accused of deepfake or any other type of misconduct by your college or university, contact the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team today at 888.535.3686, or fill out our contact form, and we will schedule a confidential consultation. Tell us about your case, and let us explain how we can help protect your academic career and your future.