When A Joke Becomes A Crime
- Kirra Pendergast
- Feb 26
- 4 min read
A fourteen-year-old takes a screenshot of a classmate's Instagram photo, runs it through a free AI app, and generates a fake sexual image. They share it in a group chat. A few mates laugh. Someone screenshots it. Someone forwards it. By lunchtime, it has reached people the original sender has never met. The fourteen-year-old thinks it's a joke.
Under new amendments to the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), effective 16 February 2026, it is a criminal offence. And the penalties are not small. We are talking up to three years' imprisonment and fines up to $11,000 — for adults. For minors, the consequences travel in a different direction, but they travel far, and they last.
