The Senate passed a pair of bills to combat “deep fake” AI-generated child pornography during Tuesday’s floor session.
Senate Bill 740 criminalizes altering a photograph, image, video clip, movie, or recording containing sexually explicit conduct by inserting the image of an actual minor so it appears that the minor is engaged in the sexually explicit conduct.
The legislation defines “actual minor” as any person, “whether living or deceased, whose image was taken or captured when he or she was under the age of 18 and later inserted into a photograph, image, video clip, movie, or recording containing sexually explicit content.”
The crime would carry a fine up to $10,000 and/or one to five years in prison.
Senator Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson, 16) mentioned on the floor that she recently received an email notifying her of a constituent that was a victim of this behavior. A child predator took a picture of this boy from his Instagram account and imposed his face onto a sexually explicit image. The predator then contacted the boy, threatening to post the image across various social media platforms unless he was paid money.
Senate Bill 741 also passed today. Where the previous bill deals with victim’s real images being used in artificially generated porn, this companion legislation concerns entirely digitally or AI-generated porn where the image appears to be a minor.
The legislation stipulates that the content produced must be obscene, which state code defines as “appealing to the prurient interest; depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexually explicit conduct and taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”
The bill would criminalize the creation, production, distribution, and possession with intent to distribute. It carries a fine up to $20,000 and/or one to 10 years in prison.
These bills now head to the House of Delegates for consideration.
The Senate is adjourned until tomorrow, Feb. 21, at 11 a.m.
Afternoon Meetings:
Energy at 1 p.m. in 208W
Health at 1 p.m. in 451M
Judiciary at 2 p.m. in 208W
Finance at 2 p.m. in 451M
Morning Meetings for 2/21:
Government Organization at 10 a.m. in 208W
