Pennsylvania Senate unanimously passes bill criminalizing deepfake child sexual abuse material • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

The Pennsylvania State Senate voted unanimously on Monday to criminalize pornographic images of minors created using artificial intelligence.

“It is deeply disturbing that AI is being abused today to create sexually explicit images and deepfakes involving minors,” said Senator Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia). “This abuse of technology is not a theory. It is a reality.”

Across the country, schools have had to grapple with the proliferation of technology that allows students to create deepfakes with explicit images of their classmates. And numerous states have begun to address the problem with new laws.

Countries are vying to restrict deepfake porn as it becomes easier to create

The Bill passed by Pennsylvania Senate would work by making it clear that existing laws prohibiting child pornography and the non-consensual sharing of pornographic images of sexual partners still apply even if the images are created using artificial intelligence.

““We must do everything we can to prevent individuals from using AI for these insidious purposes,” said the bill’s sponsor, Senator Tracy Pennycuick (R-Montgomery), chair of the Senate Committee on Communications and Technology. “Through its bipartisan approach, the General Assembly is making it clear that Pennsylvania is not the place for these depraved activities.”

The draft law will then be submitted to the state parliament for review.