20-03-2025
AI-generated child porn would be banned under proposed Nevada law
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — What does artificial intelligence mean in the dark world of child pornography? That was the topic as the Nevada Legislature reviewed a bill that would update existing laws for a strange new world.
There are no Nevada statutes against AI-generated child pornography and that needs to change, according to Attorney General Aaron Ford. He took part in presenting Senate Bill 263 (SB263) on Wednesday in Carson City, alongside Democratic Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, the bill's sponsor.
AI is being used to alter images — the faces of child porn victims, which are being replaced by new faces. It's creating a whole new class of victims, and sometimes making it very hard to identify the initial victims. And there is pornography that is completely AI-generated, with no discernable connection to a human victim.
'It's simple. Our laws need to keep up with technology, especially when bad actors are using it to exploit children,' Ford said.
'Creating computer-generated child pornography is not just disturbing it's … predatory. And it should be a crime. Under this bill, it will be,' he said.
The discussion that followed took a winding path through existing law, constitutional law and AI deepfake technology.
Jacob Villani, a prosecutor for the Clark County District Attorney's Office, explained the techniques that are being used to keep track of child porn images and where they come from. That's one of the few tools law enforcement has against the new technology.
Ford talked about an actual case. 'A child who was rescued from sexual abuse in 2018 is still being victimized today because predators are using AI to create new fake child pornography with her face. These deepfakes keep the abuse going long after she was saved. And because of advancements in artificial intelligence, it's actually harder to even, to ever track and remove these images.'
Villani and Cannizzaro, who spent 11 years working for the Clark County DA's office, took turns addressing questions that took a lot of twists and turns. Senators asked about how the bill would deal with the age of consent, particularly when an older person was made to look like a minor.
'We are overly careful when it comes to age,' Villani said. 'The cases we prosecute are clearly children.'
At its base, SB263 adds computer-generated child pornography to what is illegal under Nevada law. Villani said when investigations uncover that material, there is no existing law to use to prosecute the case.
People opposed to the bill question whether it's constitutional. Cannizzaro said those questions were addressed as the bill came together. She said there is no bright-line test.
'Part of this requires for the judiciary, for law enforcement, for prosecutors and defense attorneys to make those kinds of calls,' Cannizzaro said.
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