On Thursday, the Alabama Senate passed a bill that would make synthetic child pornography illegal in Alabama. The bill passed the Senate unanimously. The bill now goes to Governor Kay Ivey.

HB 168 was introduced by State Rep. Matt Woods (R-Jasper) and passed in the Senate by State Sen. April Weaver (R-Briarfield).

“The purpose of this bill is to change state law to treat AI-generated child pornography the same as real child pornography. In other words, if child pornography is produced, possessed or distributed, the state will no longer have to verify whether an actual child is involved,” Rep. Woods said as the bill passed the Alabama House of Representatives.

After the bill passed the Senate, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall praised the Legislature for expanding the state's power to investigate and prosecute synthetic sexual content.

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“While artificial intelligence offers opportunities for productive innovation, it has been and will continue to be exploited by those who seek to do harm, particularly with regard to the rapid creation and distribution of child sexual abuse material,” Attorney General Marshall explained in a statement. “If passed, HB 168 will make Alabama a national leader in blocking artificial intelligence-created child sexual abuse material and protecting children from this scourge.”

“I'm grateful for Rep. Matt Woods' leadership on this issue, which has given law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to apprehend these depraved predators,” Marshall added.

The production, distribution, and possession of child pornography is already illegal in Alabama. AI-generated child pornography is becoming much higher quality and more realistic, allowing bad actors to produce this product in large quantities, making it difficult for law enforcement to distinguish between child sex slaves and real AI characters. Authorities do not want legal loopholes to exist that allow child pornographers to avoid prosecution.

“These legislative changes will strengthen our ability to combat child exploitation in our state,” Marshall said.

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