Gordon-Booth Fights to Protect Children from High-Tech Exploitation

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Responding to the rise of “AI” and “deepfake” imagery, state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, supported a plan to update state laws and levy penalties on criminals who use such technology to create and distribute explicit images of minors.

“As ‘AI’ becomes more mainstream and easier for anyone to use, we have to take steps to modernize our laws and protect children from bad actors,” Gordon-Booth said. “Child pornography is abhorrent, and we have to close the loophole some may think exists because an image is digital or mostly fake.”

The Gordon-Booth-backed House Bill 4623 adds to state child pornography laws the creation and distribution of actual, partially-digitized or fully digitized obscene depictions of sexual activity – including created or altered depictions that appear realistic. The measure also establishes the new offense of “obscene depiction of a purported child” and lays out criminal penalties.

In addition to situations involving minors, House Bill 4623 further creates the new offense of “non-consensual dissemination of sexually explicit digitized depictions” – targeting situations where someone creates and distributes digital material with the image of a real person, of any age, who has not consented.

“We’ve already seen the consequences of ‘revenge porn’ and other criminal acts online that can seriously hurt someone,” Gordon-Booth said. “Let’s make sure our laws are appropriately updated and ready to effectively stop this behavior before it becomes worse.”

House Bill 4623 passed the House with bipartisan support and is currently under consideration in the Senate.

For more information, please contact RepJGordon@gmail.com.