HARRISBURG – Lancaster County Sen. James Malone has introduced legislation to protect minors from sexually explicit AI deepfakes by requiring mandated reporters, such as school personnel, to report all incidents of minors sharing sexually explicit material of other minors. Lancaster County Rep. Nikki Rivera introduced companion legislation in the PA House. In 2023, 48 female students at Lancaster Country Day School and 12 other girls were victims of sexually explicit deepfake images generated by two male students using AI. School officials were made aware of the abuse, but did not report it to law enforcement for several months, revealing a critical gap in PA’s mandatory reporting laws. Senate Bill 1034 will amend the child-on-child contact section of PA’s mandatory reporting law to include unlawful dissemination of intimate images and sexual abuse of children, such as the use of sexually explicit AI deepfakes involving minors. This will close the reporting gap and ensure that all instances of child sexual abuse imagery are recognized and reported to proper authorities immediately.
SEN. JAMES MALONE