AUGUSTA – Today, Rep. Amy Kuhn, D-Falmouth, introduced a bill to strengthen protections for Maine children against AI-generated child sexual abuse material before the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.
Rapidly evolving technologies like generative AI have created new avenues for offenders to create, manipulate and disseminate obscene material, including content that sexually exploits children. LD 524 would change Maine law to close current loopholes, update definitions and better reflect the seriousness of the harm that can be caused in the current digital landscape.
“The increase in AI-generated child sexual abuse material is a huge concern,” said Kuhn. “It’s not a hypothetical anymore. This technology has created new ways to victimize children, and our laws haven’t been updated to adequately protect against that. My hope is that the Legislature will recognize that addressing this harm is a nonpartisan priority.”
The issue of AI-generated child abuse material is already impacting people in Maine. In September, the Bangor Daily News reported on an incident in which a man went to a children’s soccer game and took pictures of the kids playing. He later applied those photos to sexually explicit AI-generated images. Police knew who he was and that this was happening, but could not charge him with a crime under Maine law.
AI-generated child sexual abuse material is also on the rise nationally. At the end of 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children saw a 1,325% increase in the number of tips it received related to AI-generated materials.
The bill will have a work session in the coming months before it is voted on by the House and Senate.
Rep. Kuhn is serving her second term in the Maine House and represents part of Falmouth. She is the House chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary.
Contact:
Brian Lee (Kuhn) | 305-965-2744