‘A nonpartisan issue’: Lawmaker hopes to protect Tennesseans against AI in revenge, child porn

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — One lawmaker’s push to add more protections against artificial intelligence (AI) is meant to help be part of a proactive, comprehensive approach to the technology.

Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) filed HB1964, which would add AI-manipulated or -created images to those prohibited under current Tennessee laws on “revenge porn” and child pornography.

According to Powell, the bill is meant to make sure images created or manipulated with AI can’t be “detrimental to Tennesseans.”

“What we’re finding now is people are using technology and using resources like AI to literally take images and turn them into obscene materials,” he told News 2. “It’s very alarming, and we want to make sure that we’re comprehensive with our laws and that those types of images are not allowed to be shared without also being enforced with the same laws that we have on the books for existing laws around explicit images.”

MORE: TN bill would add AI images to unlawful exposure, child exploitation laws

If passed, HB1964 would classify images that were originally understood to remain private but were then manipulated with AI or other computer software and digital editing tools and released under the state’s revenge porn statute. Current law classifies revenge porn violations as Class A misdemeanors.

In Tennessee, Class A misdemeanors are subject to up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and/or fines up to $2,500.

The other portion of the bill would expand the legal definition of child pornography to also include images created and/or manipulated with AI programs, computer software programs or other digital editing tools.

Currently, violations of child pornography laws are classified as Class D felonies, though they could be as high as Class B felonies, depending on the number of images, according to state law. Class D felonies carry sentences between two and 12 years and up to a $5,000 fine, the Tennessee Code Annotated states. Class B felonies carry a sentence between eight and 30 years imprisonment and up to a $25,000 fine.

When it comes to enforcement of the proposed law, Powell says law enforcement agencies may have certain computer software programs that can detect when an image has been created or altered by artificial intelligence to be obscene.

“That would be part of the judicial process; they would have to make sure that was not an actual image that was done that’s authentic but rather an image that was made manipulated with computer technology,” he said.

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Lawmakers across both parties have major concerns with the misuse and abuse of AI. Tennessee lawmakers, including Gov. Bill Lee, recently unveiled a new bill that would protect music artists’ vocal likenesses from manipulation and misuse of AI through the “ELVIS Act.”

“The laws we currently have on the books deal with revenge porn and child pornography to make sure that the people who make and share these images can be prosecuted,” he said. “Enhancing this law to include artificial intelligence is very, very important to all Tennesseans.”

Something that Powell and other legislators will need to contend with is potential constitutional questions such a law might raise surrounding the right of people to create and disseminate pornography to consenting adults.

“Laws around pornography are pretty well defined, both by the Supreme Court at the federal level, but also here in Tennessee and the local level. There are going to be, perhaps, some challenges to this, but when you’re talking about pornographic images, obscene images, one: if they deal with revenge porn, they can cause great emotional distress, and then also, when you’re talking about child pornography laws, those absolutely should never be permitted or allowed to be created, so we want to draw the line there and make sure that we enforce this,” Powell said. “As we see technology change, the that we have on the books that reflect those changes, as well.”

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The bottom line, Powell said, is the state needs to protect Tennesseans against “harmful imagery that can arise now because of advances in technology.”

Powell said AI concerns are a “nonpartisan issue,” and he’s hopeful that his bill will pass the Tennessee General Assembly.

“This applies no matter who you are; you can be victimized by it, so we hope to pass this legislation and we’re very hopeful that it’s going to pass, because the issue is only going to grow and become more and more concerning and distressing to Tennesseans. We have a great opportunity to pass this law this year,” he told News 2. “As it stands today, I’m very confident in being able to pass this legislation.”

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