The Texas Senate aims to pass legislation that punishes AI-created deepfakes involving minors, protecting children and increasing prosecutions against criminals.
Texas, USA – As artificial intelligence technology continues to evolve, criminals are misusing it to create explicit Deepfark content, making the prosecutor even more difficult.
Texas lawmakers are working to strengthen laws that allow courts to hold offenders liable for the generation of AI operational materials depicting minors.
The Texas Senate recently passed Senate Bill 20. This creates a new state prison felony for possession or promotion of visual material that appears to portray a child under the age of 18.
“AI is a real issue with the creation of deepfakes and alternative porn. I want to stop this. Of course I want to protect it from the hands of minors and protect the children,” said Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office and Attorney Corey Neeland.
The measure aims to bridge the gaps in existing laws that are struggling to address AI-generated content. However, Kneeland noted the legal complexities surrounding Deepfake’s prosecution.
“The term child is a legally different term defined in Texas. We have to work with it,” explained Nealland. “And I don’t know how I can apply it to images that don’t exist. I don’t know how that will be endorsed in court.”
He also raised broader concerns about how AI technology is evolving.
“AI just makes it easier,” Kneeland said. “A more interesting question now is the image of an AI-generated cartoon of a child who is the victim?”
Digital forensics expert Christine explained how deepfake technology is driving a new form of sexttort.
“Deepfake is traditionally a video or artificially modified photo. Criminals hiding behind computers and phones use these modified photos and videos to force victims,” she said.
Sextration crime has been on the rise, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the FBI’s Houston office. Victims range from young children to teenagers.
“Unfortunately, the victims were watching until they were 17 when they were young at five,” Christine added. “Unfortunately, this is a kind of crime we’ve grown, again targeting young boys, young girls, teenagers and adolescents.”
State Legislature Dade Phelan highlighted the urgency of legislative measures to address growing issues.
“There are bills currently working on child pornography and AI,” Phelan said. “We have to put some guardrails in places where the public is caring for them. The problem is that it’s so sophisticated.”
Senate Bill 20 attempts to impose criminal penalties on criminals, but Kneeland has proposed another approach to suppress explicit content generated by AI.
“Creating a new criminal penalty can ultimately not get you where you want it. It could be a technology regulation,” he said.
State leaders hope that the proposed law will provide law enforcement with better tools to prosecute offenders and protect victims of deep crime.
