Whether or not a child is already a child, a state bill introduced during this year’s legislative session aims to punish the distribution of artificial intelligence ( AI ) images of children who have been subject to up to 15 years in prison.
Senate Bill 9 follows other similar costs that have been introduced in state legislatures across the country to fight the growing issue of artificial child pornography. Legislations that specifically addressed the prevention of AI baby deepfakes sailed through legislatures, most just those in Tennessee and California. Because the costs enjoys bipartisan support, it is expected to pass in Georgia. The policy was approved by the House Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee on Wednesday without a vote in the House Rules Committee.
Emanuel Jones, a co-sponsor of the invoice, said Sen.  , Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, that the bill was intended to stop and stop AI murder from occurring all over the nation.
Authorities claim Ronald Richardson, a Pepsi merchant, who allegedly abused his access to Gilmer County High School to take photos of the girls he encountered, was arrested within weeks and brought the issue to light in Atlanta. According to sheriff’s leaders, he persuaded other women to share photos and videos of themselves with him. The girls were unaware that he would reportedly use AI to turn their photos into child pornography that he had distributed online. For presenting child pornography, Richardson was charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse in January.
Richardson’s imprisonment is thought to be the first instance of Georgia-created child pornography. According to Jones, the imprisonment confirms that a new law is required especially for this kind of activity. One situation has already occurred, and it will only take a while before others. We must advance in the process,” he said.
One of the female informed the resource officer at the school in December that Richardson had asked her for movies.
The parents of eight admitted female subjects filed a complaint against Richardson and Pepsi on behalf of their children, who were aged 12 to 17 when they claimed they were the survivors.
The analysis began when a student informed the school resource officer that she had agreed to speak with Richardson often while he was in the classroom and had done so for about a year. According to the Gilmer County Sheriff’s incident report, Richardson had frequently offered her completely sweet drinks, but this was the first time she had been asked to send him photos.
In September, individuals reported Richardson taking photos of them as they passed him loading the vending equipment, and Pepsi demanded that Gilmer County High School check and replace him. Richardson was reinstated to his course and serving the large school despite being partially removed because Pepsi was “having problems finding other vehicles in the area,” according to the complaint.
Richardson left the company after being re-apprehended in December, where he is currently imprisoned for a number of works of sexual abuse. Although he was not employed by the region, he was given an access badge to use while he could readily enter the middle and high schools. H. Brian Ridley, superintendent of the Gilmer County Charter Schools, declined to comment beyond the district’s information discharge, which pledged to collaborate with police.
There were many minor patients in the case, according to Gilmer County, Sheriff, and Stacy Nicholson.
” All of the sexually explicit ( nude ) photos of the minor children that Richardson is alleged to have possessed are actually normal snapshots that he had taken from various social media sites before having them altered ( or had altered ) using AI to make the images appear nude,” said Nicholson.
Richardson was denied loan. The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office agreed to serve as the pursuing company on February 5 after receiving the situation.
Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, co-sponsored SB 9 and served as chair of the Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence.
According to Albers in a speech to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, SB 9 is intended to modernize and enhance the constitutional provisions regarding obscenity and the use of emerging technologies in criminal activities, thus offering better defense to the citizens of , Georgia , from evolving threats and unsuitable materials.
Politicians are also attempting to combat the issue of AI kid sex at the national level. The Take It Down Act, which would prosecute “revenge porn,” the submission of nonconsensual romantically explicit images and videos to insult or fight against a victim, was unanimously passed by the U.S. Senate on February 13. Additionally, the law may require technology businesses to take down objectionable images within 48 hours of receiving a victim’s written consent. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. Just, First Lady, Melania Trump, D-Minn., lately appeared at a , Capitol Hill, and roundtable, where they urged legislators to support the bill.
There are now few, if any, legal requirements for programs to reduce sexually explicit deepfakes or methods for people to request their treatment, according to Thomas Kadri, an associate professor at the , University of Georgia School of Law.
Beyond criminalizing the problem, according to Kadri, there is potential for states like  and Georgia to pass laws governing legal liability, such as allowing victims to reimburse their perpetrators for creating and distribution of AI deepfake.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2025.
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