California Governor Signs Bipartisan Bills Making Artificially Created Child Abuse Crimes

This legislation would authorize the courts to prosecute someone who develops, possesses, or distributes AI-generated child pornography. According to Abigail Marshal, the rapid growth of generative AI in committing crimes against children has been noted and was supported by Governor Gavin Newsom when he signed two pieces of legislation today.

According to Peter Gentala, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s senior legal counsel, AI technology that creates offensive content is more accessible and utilized than it ever has been in the past. “The technology has never been more accessible,” said Gentala. He noted that easy access to AI-generated images has accelerated the criminal activity that is exploiting children. The number of crimes committed using generative AI that have occurred to avoid accountability for exploiting children has increased, Gentile said.

A newly signed law has criminalized the possession or dissemination of AI-generated images of child sexual abuse, whether the photographed individual is real or not. “There’s just an issue in California whose time has come,” said Gentala.

California Pioneers in Artificial Intelligence Child Exploitation Law

A State-First Move California becomes the first to update its criminal code to help prevent and prosecute AI-generated child pornography. “The new legislation, if passed, would make prosecution much more streamlined and establish an important precedent for other states to adopt,” said one appellate attorney in Dallas. Bipartisan support for such bills is hard to deny: the practice of using generative AI to produce child exploitation is increasingly abusive and of concern to many.

The children are targeted by laws aimed at a safer and more protected digital world. Newly signed legislation will protect children from exploitation in a world where AI technology, though becoming more accessible and dangerous, is here to stay. That is expected to be repeated in other states as lawmakers seek to shield vulnerable populations from threats perpetrated by AI.