FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 22, 2024
BOISE, IDAHO – Governor Brad Little has signed House Bill 465 into law, which amends the criminal child pornography law to include artificial intelligence-generated sexual depictions of children wherein the depictions appear to be that of real children.
This new law, which passed unanimously in both the House and Senate, closes a dangerous loophole in a legally defensible manner. As the U.S. Supreme Court recognized in New York v. Ferber (1982), “The prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse of children constitutes a government objective of surpassing importance.”
Idaho Family Policy Center actively supported this bill throughout the legislative process and will continue to fight for the protection of children in the Gem state.
A statement from Blaine Conzatti, President of Idaho Family Policy Center:
Although all pornography causes real and measurable harm to individuals, families, and communities, our society has historically recognized child pornography as qualitatively different from most other types of pornography.
Unfortunately, new technologies are making child pornography even more accessible and frightening.
With the rise of artificial intelligence, our society is seeing a concerning influx of so-called pornographic ‘deepfakes’ — computer-generated content that portray real individuals engaged in pornographic content. These sexually graphic deepfakes can be generated with just a single, innocent picture of the victim.
This computer-generated pornography exploits real children, with real lives and real families. But until now, our laws haven’t addressed AI-generated ‘deepfake’ porn.
That’s why this new law is so important—it closes the existing loophole, ensuring that bad actors are held accountable if they take advantage of new technological capabilities to create sexually exploitative material.
Media Contact:
For questions or to schedule an interview, please contact our communications manager, Morgan MaGill, at (208) 260-5844 or [email protected].
