› Grades 6–8 · ages 11–14 · Structured debate
Deepfakes: should they be illegal?
“Creating a deepfake of a real person without their consent should be against the law.”
A structured debate on synthetic media that starts from consent and privacy and runs into free expression and enforcement. Students learn what a deepfake is technically, why detection is losing, and why 'just ban it' is harder than it sounds.
55 minutes · one class period · free to photocopy
Students will be able to
- Explain what a deepfake is and why they are getting harder to detect.
- Argue an assigned side on a proposed law with evidence and a rebuttal.
- Identify who a law would protect, who it would restrict, and how it would be enforced.
Vocabulary
- Deepfake — Synthetic media that convincingly puts someone’s face or voice where it wasn’t.
- Consent (data use) — Whether people agreed to their data being used to train or fine-tune systems.
- Privacy (when using AI) — What you paste into a model may be stored, logged, or used to improve products.
- AI regulation — Government rules on development, deployment, and accountability.
- Verification — Checking outputs against evidence — the habit that makes AI usable.
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Agenda · 55 minutes
| Minutes | Segment | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0–6 | Warm-up | Harmless deepfake vs. harmful one. Same tech, different answers? |
| 6–14 | Background + vocabulary | Read the sheet. Mark one fact for evidence. Class defines 'consent' in one sentence. |
| 14–22 | Team prep | Assigned sides. Position organizer: claim, three reasons, evidence, expected rebuttal. Both sides must address enforcement. |
| 22–44 | Structured debate | Opening 2 · huddle 3 · rebuttal 2 · cross-fire 6 · closing 1. Audience scores. |
| 44–52 | Draft the law | Mixed groups write ONE sentence of law: what is banned, what is exempt, who enforces. Read three. |
| 52–55 | Exit ticket | Handout. |
Affirmative — ban it without consent
Your face and voice are yours. Using them to fake you is a harm the law should name.
- The victims are mostly ordinary people with no other recourse.
- Consent is the clean line: the person said yes, or they didn't.
- Laws against forgery and impersonation already exist; this is the same wrong with new tools.
- Without a law, platforms have no obligation to take it down.
Negative — a blanket ban goes too far
The harm is real, but the ban as written catches satire, art, and journalism, and can't be enforced.
- Parody and impressions of public figures are protected expression.
- Detection doesn't work; a law you can't enforce teaches contempt for the law.
- Target the harm (harassment, fraud, fake intimate images), not the technology.
- Makers are anonymous and global. Platform takedown rules would do more than criminal law.
Discussion questions
- 1.openingWhat exactly is taken from someone when their face is faked?
- 2.coreShould the law treat a fake of a senator differently from a fake of a classmate?
- 3.coreIf you can't reliably tell a deepfake from a real video, how would a court?
- 4.coreIs a comedian's impression a deepfake? Where's the line?
- 5.closingWrite one sentence of law. Who does it protect, and who does it restrict?
How structured debate runs
Two teams, assigned sides. Opening statements (2 min each), rebuttal huddle (3 min), rebuttals (2 min each), open cross-fire with hands (5 min), closing statements (1 min each). The audience votes on which side argued better — not which side they agree with.
In grades 6–8
Evidence enters the room. Students can hold a position they don't believe, and that's the point.
Preview the full pack
Cover, teacher guide, and every student handout. Print teacher pages once and student pages one per learner.
On a phone, open the PDF in a new tab — in-page previews are unreliable in mobile Safari.
Standards
- CCSS ELA SL.7.1 / SL.8.1
- CCSS ELA W.7.1 / W.8.1 (argument)
- C3 Framework D2.Civ.12 (laws and rules)
- ISTE Students 2.a / 2.b (digital citizenship)
More for grades 6–8
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