Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday signed a bill that bans deepfake images created by artificial intelligence under the state’s child pornography law — legislation inspired by a cyberbullying incident at an Alabama middle school.
“During my State of the State address, I acknowledged that in this ever-evolving world, ensuring new technologies are both safe and effective is an important public safety measure, and there is no greater public safety measure than protecting Alabama’s children,” Ivey said in a statement.
“I was proud to officially sign into law HB168 to ensure our girls and boys are protected from the potential dangers of AI.”
The Alabama Child Protection Act of 2024, authored by state Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, and Rep. Matt Woods, R-Jasper, was inspired by an incident at Demopolis Middle School.
Six female students at the school had pictures of their faces superimposed over pornographic images, allegedly by two of their male classmates, the Demopolis Times reported.
The Demopolis Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Office and the Marengo County District Court were investigating the incident, details of which first surfaced during a December school board meeting, according to the paper.
The status of the investigation was not immediately known; Demopolis police and the Marshals office could not be reached by AL.com.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the legislation’s passage and signing showed that the state has “zero tolerance” for child pornography.
“It is great to see Alabama lead the nation on the important issue of AI-generated child sex abuse material. This is an unequivocal declaration that the State of Alabama has zero tolerance for the possession and production of child sex abuse material, regardless of how it was created,” Marshall said in a statement.
“Now the real work begins. My Office stands ready to help law enforcement and prosecutors around our state prepare to utilize this important new weapon in the fight against child exploitation.”
