NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Officials in Montgomery County are alerting the public about a new Pennsylvania law that explicitly outlaws deepfakes and artificial intelligence-generated pornography.
The new law closes a loophole in Pennsylvania by clearly prohibiting the creation and distribution of deepfake pornography. Montgomery County-based state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick said the law protects adults and children but is especially focused on minors.
“This technology can turn photos such as those from a public media post or a high school yearbook into deeply harmful sexually explicit materials,” she said.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said they want to get the word out about the new law because while someone — especially a juvenile — might think it’s a simple prank, there are real victims. And, the new law carries stiff penalties, even for minors.
“This isn’t kids messing around like we’ve seen in some of our neighboring counties,” he said. “Generated pictures of their classmates and those kinds of things — you’re going to be in a boatload of trouble if you’re going down this track.”
Steele said his office saw a case in which someone had a hidden collection of AI-generated files of a child they had access to. While that person was charged with other crimes, they couldn’t be charged for the created images of the child.
“It’s been difficult to talk to victims about not having this tool, about not being able to prosecute on this specific activity because it didn’t fit in with unlawful dissemination of intimate images statute,” he said.
“Congress has yet to fully address the dangers of AI, so Pennsylvania stepped forward,” Pennycuick added.