Latest news with #SB163
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio bill seeks to regulate AI-generated child sexual abuse material and identity fraud
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A recently introduced Ohio bill would regulate artificial intelligence in the state, including simulated child sexual abuse material and content mimicking people without their consent. Senate Bill 163, sponsored by Sens. Louis Blessing III (R-Colerain Township) and Terry Johnson (R-McDermott), would prohibit creating or distributing sexual images of children generated by AI. Current state laws surrounding child pornography leave loopholes for AI materials that are not based on a real person, Blessing said. 'There is a gray area in the law where somebody possesses child pornography, for example, but it's AI-generated and it's not an actual person, you really can't go after them easily,' Blessing said. Why this transgender Ohioan says he's leaving the state Introduced in April, the bill would classify creating child sexual abuse material using AI as a third-degree felony, and buying or possessing it as a fourth-degree felony. In Ohio, third-degree felonies typically carry a sentence of nine months to three years in prison, in addition to a possible fine of up to $10,000. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a nonprofit that runs an online tip line for child exploitation, reported that from 2022 to 2024, it received over 7,000 reports of child sexual abuse material involving AI. If SB 163 passes, Ohio will join 38 states that have enacted laws to criminalize AI-generated child sexual abuse material. The bill's AI regulations extend beyond sexual images of children, and also prohibit computer-generated identity fraud. This includes replicating a person's image, voice or likeness to illegally obtain money or damage their reputation. This would include any sexual or obscene material portraying a person without their consent. Under the bill, identity fraud using AI is generally a fifth-degree felony, but the charge could be escalated depending on a variety of factors, including previous related offenses and whether other statutes were violated in carrying out the crime. The bill would permit a person whose identity is unlawfully replicated to sue their offender. The bill would also require creators of AI products that are accessible in the state to watermark them. This would not be a visual watermark, but rather exist in the file's metadata, identifying it as AI-generated. The watermarks would be detectable by computer programs, rather than the human eye. Currently, most mainstream social media platforms use metadata to flag content as AI. 'It actually kind of protects the business to some degree by including that watermark,' Blessing said. 'It's like, 'Hey, we're including it with all of our software, if somebody removed this to use it in a bad way that's that's on them.'' Under the legislation, those found removing watermarks could be fined up to $10,000 by the attorney general. Residents harmed by a violation of this rule could also file a civil lawsuit. Blessing said throughout the bill's hearings, lawmakers will likely work on amending the bill to determine a date the watermark needs to be effective by to give entities time to implement the rule. Blessing and Johnson introduced similar legislation in the last General Assembly, Senate Bill 217, which received three hearings but ultimately did not reach a vote before the end of the session. A group of six entities, including the company NetChoice and Computer & Communications Industry Association, signed testimony in opposition to the bill. The organizations expressed concern that the watermark requirement in the bill may not currently be technologically feasible. Game against Columbus Blades boosts Buckeyes' spirits 'Responsible digital service providers have already taken aggressive steps to moderate dangerous and illegal content, consistent with their terms of service,' the written testimony reads. 'SB 217 is not limited to high-risk cases, but instead, is targeted towards any AI-developed product.' Three individuals testified in support of the bill, including the Center for Christian Virtue, the consumer rights nonprofit Public Citizen and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's Office, who originally brought the issue to Blessing's attention. 'We need to ensure there are guardrails on the use of AI so that, intentionally or unintentionally, it doesn't ruin a kid's life,' a spokesperson with the attorney general's office said. SB 163 awaits proponent and opponent testimony. It currently has two Democrat cosponsors. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio senators want to crack down on child pornography created with AI
Ohio lawmakers want to regulate images and sounds made by artificial intelligence, including making simulated child pornography made with AI illegal. This is the second time state Sens. Bill Blessing, R-Colerain Twp., and Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, have introduced this legislation. Along with Senate Bill 163's rules against child pornography, it would require images and sounds made with AI to include a watermark and it would also prohibit identity fraud with AI. More: Ohio teen tapped to help draft legislation on health care and AI Blessing said current statues about child pornography leave loopholes for people to create AI-generated child porn as long as it is not explicitly based on a real person. Current law requires a real photo of a child to prosecute someone for generating or possessing child sexual assault material. Because AI does not generate a "real image," there is an exploitable gap that AI fits into. Blessing said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost reached out to the General Assembly to fill this gap in Ohio law. "If you're peddling in child pornography, even if it's artificially intelligence generated it's effectively the same thing," he said. Under SB 163, creating or distributing simulated obscene material, including child pornography, would become a third-degree felony and buying or possessing it would be considered a fourth-degree felony. The bill would also prohibit users from generating sexual images of adults without that person's consent. A provision in the bill would require AI programs to include a distinctive watermark that informs the user that what they are viewing or hearing was made by AI. Blessing said the watermark would not be intrusive and easy for companies to implement. Instead of something visible in an AI-generated image or something a listener could hear in AI-generated audio, this watermark would not be detectable by humans but would instead be detected by another machine. It would exist in the file's metadata and be used to determine the origins of AI images and audio. SB 163 would allow citizens and the attorney general to sue AI generators for not including these watermarks and anyone who intentionally removes them for damages. A group of six companies and interest groups including Technet, a trade association for technology companies, signed onto opponent testimony from the previous version of the bill last year. They acknowledged the threat AI poses, but said companies are doing enough to regulate nefarious uses, including child sexual assault material. They also said the requirement for a watermark might not be feasible with current technology. The regulations proposed by the bill, the interest groups argued, could stifle innovation. If the bill becomes law, citizens could sue people who use AI to replicate someone's persona to, harm their reputation or defraud them. They would also be able to take action if someone used their persona to convince someone to make a financial decision that would require that person's approval. "There's going to be a lot of legislation in this space going forward, and rightfully so, because this is not something that should be left up to the markets as my colleagues like to say." Blessing said. "I'd rather have a regulated environment in this space, rather than just leaving it up to the courts or, you know, God knows what." Donovan Hunt is a fellow in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism's Statehouse News Bureau. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: State lawmakers introduce bill to prohibit AI identity fraud
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico becomes 19th state to guarantee students' right to wear regalia
Stewart HuntingtonICTNew Mexico officials are hoping that Native high school students celebrate their identity in upcoming graduation ceremonies under a new law securing their right to wear culturally significant clothing, accessories and objects during school spread the joy.'We're hoping to kind of run a campaign to some extent … to showcase native students,' Josett Monette, the state's cabinet secretary for the Indian Affairs Department, told ICT. 'We're hoping we get some selfies or photos of students in their regalia as they do their different events towards the end of the year, and that we're able to kind of highlight those' on official State of New Mexico social media March 19, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the legislation into law, ensuring students across New Mexico can freely express their cultural identity at school ceremonies. 'This legislation represents our commitment to honoring and respecting the rich cultural heritage of New Mexico's Native communities,' said Lujan Grisham. 'Every student deserves to celebrate their academic achievements in a way that honors their identity and traditions.'The legislation passed unanimously through both chambers of the Legislature and took effect immediately after the governor signed it. New Mexico joins at least 18 other states that have enacted laws that enshrine Native students' rights to express their cultural identities sartorially. Education officials praised the new statute. '(The bill) SB 163 is a significant step forward in honoring and respecting the cultural heritage of Native American students across New Mexico,' said Sec. Mariana Padilla of the New Mexico Public Education Department. 'By ensuring their right to wear traditional regalia at school ceremonies, this bill affirms the importance of identity, culture, and self-expression of the nearly 40,000 Native American students enrolled in a public school across the state. Education should uplift and celebrate the rich traditions that make our communities stronger.'Monette, a Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians citizen, said the bill was the first one she had initiated in her year as secretary of the Indian Affairs Department that went through to become law – and that seeing it in the formal legal registry gave her a boost.'Very excited to have gotten the bill through,' she said. 'We felt it was appropriate to put this into law to ensure that the right (to wear culturally significant clothing) remained intact, and that there was no question as to whether or not students would be allowed to do that. … I'm hopeful that this just makes one of those steps a little bit easier for students to not have to worry about it.'Students have often had to worry about it. Across the country and in New year in Farmington, New Mexico, a Hunkpapa Lakota student had her graduation cap – that she had adorned with a traditional feather plume – removed by school administrators during her graduation ceremony. The incident, caught on video, prompted outrage and a rebuke from the Navajo Nation Council.'No student in any school should be prohibited from wearing regalia that signifies their cultural and spiritual beliefs,' the council said. 'These actions are belittling, humiliating, and demeaning to the student and her family. There is no place for this type of behavior in our educational systems. The school officials owe an apology to the student and her family.'The Native American Rights Fund, a leading legal advocacy organization in Indian Country, has made it a priority to fight for students' rights to wear regalia. Last year NARF released a help sheet for students and parents – and school administrators – to navigate the issue. 'Many Tribal Nations recognize leadership achievements by bestowing the person who earned the honor an eagle feather or plume,' the guidelines state. 'While tribal religions and spiritual practices vary from each other, in general, a Native person who wears a plume or eagle feather at a public event has done something amazing to show that they have the maturity to pray and care for themselves and others. … This guide shares steps to help high school graduates successfully wear eagle feathers during their commencement ceremony.'The guidelines further urge parents to seek legal advice should schools balk at allowing cultural displays at school ceremonies – a consideration that the new law in New Mexico aims to render moot.'There's at least 18 other states that have a similar law in place,' said Monette. 'And so we thought it was time for New Mexico to be part of that as well. I always say that New Mexico should be at the forefront of what's going on in Indian country, and across the entire country.'I think it's going to be really exciting. I hope the students and the parents appreciate it. I'm hoping we see lots of students wearing their regalia for graduation.'And sending selfies to the secretary of the Department of Indian Affairs. The 18 other states with similar laws, according to the Native American Rights Fund, are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington. Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute $5 or $10 today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT's free newsletter.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Larson pushes bill to protect firefighters from PFAS
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Democrat Senator Liz Larson has had early success moving forward a bill designed to protect firefighters in South Dakota. The bill, SB163, would require that fire departments in South Dakota only purchase firefighting personal protective equipment that has permanently affixed labels indicating whether the equipment contains a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS). PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals' are substances which do not easily break down and remain in the human body. These have been tied to various long-term health impacts, including cancers. PFAS are found in a variety of firefighting gear including protective gear meant to shield the body from heat. House defeats bill for new men's prison In a presentation to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, Larson provided a personal example; that of her uncle, Bruce. Bruce was a member of the Ranchos Volunteer Fire Department in Gardnerville, Nevada, serving at times as chief engineer and training officer for the department. Larson wrote in her presentation that Bruce died just shy of the age of 55 after a nine-year bout with cancer. His story, said Larson, is not rare. Larson stated in her presentation that the bill offers a practical, no-cost answer to the problem. While the label does not protect the firefighters from the chemicals themselves, they do allow for the responsible management of gear as it ages. The bill, she emphasized, does not ban the purchase of this gear, but is just 'a simple, common-sense measure' to require labeling of gear with PFAS with an already existing label. Larson's bill passed the Senate HHS committee 7-0. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Second bill protecting Native regalia at school ceremonies passes committee
A dance group with Owen Padilla await to perform the San Felipe Buffalo Dance at the Santa Fe Indian School Feast Day on Oct. 9, 2023. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM) Following a lengthy discussion about what constitutes 'regalia,' a second bill protecting student's rights to wear tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies passed through committee on Tuesday. Senate Bill 163, co-sponsored by Sen. Benny Shendo (D-Jemez Pueblo), passed unanimously through the Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee; the bill is similar to one on the House side that passed through its first committee Monday. Bill protecting cultural expression at graduation ceremonies passes first committee SB 163 specifically prohibits public schools and charter schools from banning students of federally recognized Indian nations, tribes or pueblos from wearing tribal regalia or items of cultural significance at graduation ceremonies or public school events. 'There's roughly 41,905 Native American students in public schools in New Mexico so this would offer that opportunity for our students to be able to wear their regalia to their graduation ceremonies and other culturally related events,' Josett Monette, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department, said during the meeting. She joined Shendo as his expert witness. 'They could wear the regalia underneath or attached to the cap and gown, but they would still continue to wear the cap and gown.' A group of Native students joined the committee meeting Tuesday to speak in support of the bill, along with multiple representatives from NM Native Vote, ACLU of New Mexico and the Bureau of Indian Education at the Public Education Department. 'My great-grandmother was only able to attend school up until sixth grade, and so when I was able to graduate high school, I was proud to share my accomplishment and walk that stage for her. However, due to restrictions from my school, I was unable to wear my traditional attire,' Alysia Coriz (Santo Domingo Pueblo), lobbyist for NM Native Vote, said to committee members. 'Our traditional clothing is our strength. It helps us to find the connection back to our ancestors and community.' Sen. William Sharer (R-Farmington) questioned who defines regalia and what the term means for different tribes. 'What about other groups? I know this [bill] clearly talks about Native American, but what if somebody wanted to support Christopher Columbus? What if somebody wanted to put a swastika on their head for First Amendment rights,' Shearer asked the bill sponsors. The bill defines 'tribal regalia' as items of religious or cultural significance such as 'tribal symbols, jewelry, beading and feathers.' Sen. Bill Soules (D-Las Cruces) asked about tribes that are not federally recognized, pointing to Tortugas Pueblo in Las Cruces. Monette explained to the committee that the bill is specific to federally recognized tribes, but schools are encouraged to expand their interpretation of the bill and allow members of other groups to express their culture through dress at school ceremonies. SB 163 now heads to the Senate Education Committee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
