Ohio bill would criminalize AI-generated child porn

A pair of Ohio lawmakers introduced new legislation on Tuesday that aims to criminalize those who use AI or other digital programs to generate child pornography. If House Bill 786 is approved, then it would amend sections of an Ohio law to include "artificially generated depiction of a minor for obscene purposes" as a crime under the state criminal code for pandering obsenity involving a minor or impaired person, a felony-level sex crime. The bill also states that "the mistake of age is not a defense," referring to when someone claims to have not known if the person is under the legal age of consent, and that violations of certain sections could range from a second-degree felony to a fifth-degree felony. House Bill 786 was proposed by state Rep. Roy Klopfenstein, R-Haviland, and state Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Township. The bill was referred on Wednesday to the House Judiciary Committee. It is unclear when another hearing will be scheduled for this bill. Implementation of similar laws Lawmakers in other states have enacted similar measures in an effort to address the rise of AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Just this week in Pennsylvania, the state's attorney general, Dave Sunday, announced that a juvenile judge in Lancaster County, near Philadelphia, had adjudicated two boys delinquent who were accused of creating hundreds of pornographic images of dozens of their classmates using AI, lancasteronline.com reported. The two 16-year-old boys will each serve six months of probation, complete 60 hours of community service and "pay $12,000 to victims to cover counseling costs related to harm caused by the creation of the images," according to a news release from the attorney general's office. Earlier in the month, the two teenagers admitted guilt to 59 felony counts of sexual abuse of children, including manufacturing child sexual abuse material, conspiracy to commit that offense, and a misdemeanor charge for obscene material or other sexual performance. The two teenagers manipulated photos they found online — mainly via Instagram — "morphing" the images to make those depicted in the images appear nude, the release states.