Technology can be great. It makes our life easier. Helps solve complex problems. It can even save lives. However, we must remember that while technology can be used to solve many old problems, it always seems to create new problems that must be addressed.

A prime example is the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), a major technological advancement that has also resulted in the proliferation of distorted or artificially generated child pornography.

A friend recently contacted me to tell her about her daughter's tragic experience with pornography that was digitally altered from real, innocent images. The girl's face was pressed against the body of a person who engaged in a highly explicit sexual act. This is known as “deepfake” porn.

In her case, the alleged perpetrator, a 14-year-old classmate, was using an easily accessible website that generated pornographic images for free.

Imagine the horror of being a high school student and finding out your face is featured in a nude image, or worse, your likeness is used to create a pornographic film and shared with your classmates. Imagine confronting your abuser in class every day, carrying the shame of something you didn't do.

This innocent girl had her image altered in a vile and heinous way for all the world to see. Today, young people are under more psychological stress than ever before and must also deal with the threat of deepfake porn. We cannot stand by and watch our children have their purity taken away from them.

Current Alabama law protects children under the age of 17 from child pornography. I am proposing legislation to increase the age limit for those under 18 years of age.

My bill also provides civil remedies for victims of child pornography. Violators will be liable for actual damages, legal costs, and punitive damages up to $10,000 per image for any form of child pornography involving actual children.

After consulting with Attorney General Steve Marshall's office, we also found that state law lags behind when it comes to fully simulated child pornography. Purely synthetic child pornography may not involve real child victims, but it has no social value and instead promotes the evils of pedophilia and child abuse.

The U.S. Supreme Court struggled with this issue 20 years ago, and I stand ready to work with the Attorney General to ban this practice in Alabama in a way that will withstand constitutional scrutiny.

Our nation's prosecutors do not need to be bogged down in pursuing child pornographers because they must first identify whether highly sophisticated electronic images involve actual victims.

I want Alabama to have the strongest laws in the country when it comes to protecting children from predators who seek to exploit them. That's why I'm introducing the Alabama Child Protection Act ahead of the upcoming 2024 legislative session.

This is a national issue and one that Alabama should take the lead on. We must send a clear message that child sexual abuse, in any form, will not be tolerated in Alabama.

As technology evolves, so must the law. Our children deserve the best protection possible, and this law strengthens our ability to hold accountable those who seek to exploit our children.

The Alabama Child Protection Act can make a real difference in the fight against child exploitation.

Matt Woods is a father and small business owner from Jasper, Alabama. Woods, a Republican, represents District 13 in the Alabama House of Representatives.