AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – February 10th is National Safer Internet Day, and bills aimed at protecting people from nude images generated online are being introduced in both states.
Generative artificial intelligence systems like Grok AI are being studied in places like California and the European Union for the ability to allow users to “undress” people in images.
Currently, it’s difficult to prosecute people who use these features without the consent of the person in the image, but lawmakers in Georgia and South Carolina are trying to change that.
South Carolina’s House Bill 3042 and Georgia’s Senate Bill 398 both consider adding AI-generated nude or partially nude images as crimes in wiretapping, eavesdropping, and voyeurism laws.
South Carolina’s HB 3042 would expand the definition of voyeurism to include using generative AI to create, manipulate, alter, adapt, or modify images, audio recordings, videos, or other digital electronic files to create realistic but false images of another person for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification.
A person who commits this crime is a felon, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or up to 15 years in prison, or both. The new bill increases fines by $5,000 and increases prison sentences by five years.
The bill also requires law enforcement agencies in possession of images and recordings to ensure they are completely destroyed. The investigative law enforcement agency is also responsible for identifying and notifying any other victims discovered during the investigation within 30 days of discovery.
SB 398 proposes adding new provisions regarding generative AI-related crimes to the current voyeurism and voyeurism laws. Georgia lawmakers are choosing to create what is effectively a voyeur crime.
If you knowingly use generated AI to create obscene material for minors or adults, you are committing a crime. Obscene material is defined as material that appeals to or panders to nudity, sex, or excretion, lacks significant literary, artistic, political, or scientific value, or depicts or depicts sexually explicit conduct.
Committing a crime against a minor is a felony, punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. If the convicted person is a close relative, no fine will be imposed.
A convicted felon will be charged with a misdemeanor if the crime is against a minor over the age of 14, if the minor consented to the production of the image but the image was not distributed, or if the court determines that the distribution was not for the purpose of harassing, threatening, embarrassing, or commercializing.
If you commit a crime against an adult, you will be charged with a felony, punishable by one to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
In either case, each image generated constitutes a separate crime.
SB 398 also adds a section to the bill regarding public access computers equipped with this technology. The article states that if a child accesses a generated AI and uses it to generate obscene images or text, the owner or operator of the computer will be deemed to have provided obscene material to the child.
Anyone who commits this crime is charged with a felony and is sentenced to one to 15 years in prison.
The Georgia bill received second reading in the Senate on February 9th after being approved by the Judiciary Committee. If passed, it would go into effect as soon as it is signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.
South Carolina’s bill is currently being considered in the Judiciary Committee. If passed, it would go into effect as soon as it is signed by Gov. Henry McMaster.
There are steps you can take to protect yourself while the bill is being debated by lawmakers. The National Cybersecurity Alliance recommends being careful what you share online. Many social media platforms allow you to control who can see your profile and posts.
You can also adjust your social media privacy settings to limit who can see your information and photos.
The group also suggests preventing AI users from watermarking photos to create new images.
If you find yourself a victim, there are steps you can take.
In 2025, Congress passed the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Made it a crime to publish “intimate” images, including those generated by AI, under certain circumstances.
The law also requires social media platforms to create a “notice and take down” process.
Platforms will have until May 19, 2026 to implement a process that allows users to notify platforms about images of themselves posted without their consent. The platform must then delete the image and its copies as soon as possible.
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