Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
01/26/2026 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview(s): Department of Law | |
| HB47 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | HB 47 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 47-GENERATED OBSCENE CHLD SEX ABUSE MATERIAL
2:11:54 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 47, "An Act relating to crime and criminal
procedure; relating to generated obscene child sexual abuse
material; relating to the powers of district judges and
magistrates; relating to teaching certificates; and relating to
licensing of school bus drivers." [Before the committee was
CSHB 47(CRA).]
2:12:16 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, introduced CSHB 47(CRA) with a PowerPoint presentation
[included in the committee file]. She summarized slides 1 and
2, which stated that HB 47, would combat the creation,
possession, and distribution of artificial intelligence (AI)
generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM), adding that AI
enables the creation of virtual sexual images of children
indistinguishable from reality. She continued to slide 3, which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
AI or computer-generated CSAM poses many dangers to
children, including:
• Perpetrators can now generate, alter or collage
depictions of children that are indistinguishable from
depictions of real children.
• They can use parts of images of real children to
create a composite image that is unidentifiable as a
particular child, and in a way that prevents even an
expert from concluding that parts of images of real
children were used.
• Sexually explicit depictions involving childreneven
if no physical abuse occurs during their creationhas
significant psychological and long-term impacts on the
children depicted.
• Artificially-generated or computer-edited CSAM
further re-victimizes actual child victims, as their
images are collected from the Internet and studied by
artificial intelligence tools to create new images.
• Child predators can also use artificially-generated
or computer-edited CSAM to extort minors and their
families for financial gain.
• Overwhelming law enforcement's capabilities to
identify and rescue real-life victims, child safety
experts warn.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE continued to slide 4, which showed news
headlines emphasizing the acceleration of AI and CSAM. She
turned to slide 5, which showed another article, titled "AI is
overpowering efforts to catch child predators, experts warn,"
and read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Creates demand for harmful content.
• Blurs legal boundaries for enforcement.
• Overwhelming law enforcement's capabilities to
identify and rescue real -life victims, child safety
experts warn
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE advanced to slide 6, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
INCREASE IN AI-GENERATED CSAM:
According to the IWF study between October 2023 and
July of 2024 over 3,500 new AI-generated criminal
child sexual abuse images were uploaded to one dark
web forum alone.
AI CSAM FEATURING KNOWN VICTIMS:
Perpetrators increasingly use fine-tuned AI models to
generate new imagery of known victims of child sexual
abuse or famous children.
MORE SEVERE IMAGES:
Of the AI-generated images confirmed to be child
sexual abuse on the forum, more images depicted the
most severe Category A abuse, indicating that
perpetrators are more able to generate complex
'hardcore' scenarios.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE played a YouTube video from the Internet
Watch Foundation that captured the issue and its impact on
children in further detail.
2:21:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE turned to slide 7, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
State Laws that Criminalize AI-generated or Computer-
edited CSAM
Research by ENOUGH ABUSE has documented that 38 states
have enacted laws that criminalize AI-generated or
computer-edited CSAM, while 12 states and D.C. have
not. Montana was added to this list just in the last
couple of weeks. More than half of these laws were
enacted in 2024 alone. The National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reports that in 2023
alone, it received 4,700 reports of CSAM involving
generative AI technology.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE continued to slide 8, which defined
obscenity and read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
EXTENDS ALASKA'S EXISTING PROHIBITIONS ON CHILD SEXUAL
ABUSE MATERIAL (CSAM)
• Includes artificially generated images depicting
identifiable children
EXPANDS CRIMINAL LAW TO COVER ENTIRELY SYNTHETIC, YET
REALISTIC AND OBSCENE IMAGES OF MINORS
• • Depicts conduct under AS 11.41.455.
• Meets obscenity criteria under the Miller Test.
Exemptions: Protects employees and contractors of
interactive computer services, ISPs, and
telecommunications providers detecting/reporting
illegal materials.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE concluded on slide 9, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
HB 47 Generated CSAM
• Holds perpetrators accountable for exploiting
children's digital likenesses
• Enhancing law enforcement tools
• Strengthens safeguards for children
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE noted that the new material is primarily in
Section 2, on page 2 of CSHB 47(CRA). She credit the chair for
the inclusion of the Miller Test under the obscenity laws. She
explained that pornography is protected under the First
Amendment; however, obscenity is not. When it comes to abusing
children, the Miller Test has been utilized in the obscenity
laws to add further protection without raising constitutional
concerns. She further noted that the bill includes exemptions
for internet service providers and telecommunications
professionals to allow them to safely detect and report illegal
material without fear of legal repercussions. She stated that
passing the bill would greatly strengthen protections for
Alaskan children, create clear legal guidelines, and empower law
enforcement to respond effectively to the rapidly evolving
threat.
2:26:03 PM
ISAIAH SMARDO, Staff, Representative Sarah Vance, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Vance, prime sponsor,
gave a summary of changes in CSHB 47(CRA), Version I, from a
written explanation of changes [included in the committee file],
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Title Change: to remove " relating to the powers of
district judges and magistrates."
Section 2. Amends Paragraph (b) to provide a
contractor of a technology company who, while acting
in the scope of employment, accesses the prohibited
material solely to remove the material would not be
held criminally liable.
Section 4. Adds a new Paragraph AS 11.61.127(b)(2) to
provide that an employee or contractor of a technology
company who, while acting in the scope of employment,
accesses the prohibited material solely to remove the
material would not be held criminally liable.
CHAIR GRAY recalled that it's easier to prosecute a CSAM crime
when the victim is an identifiable child. He asked how an
unidentifiable is addressed in the bill.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE referred to Section 2, on page 2 of the
bill, and explained that under current law, the child must be
identifiable, which is difficult for the prosecution. She
stated that the bill would allow AI generated likeness to be
prosecuted as well.
2:29:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked whether anything in the bill would
allow the state to hold a company liable for creating AI
generated CSAM.
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE said the bill is all encompassing for
criminally prosecuting an individual. She noted that she has
another bill that seeks to hold technology companies
accountable, but CSHB 47(CRA) would update Alaska statutes to
include AI generated images.
CHAIR GRAY announced that the committee would hear invited
testimony on CSHB 47(CRA).
2:31:24 PM
TREVOR STORRS, President/CEO, Alaska Children's Trust, gave
invited testimony in support of CSHB 47(CRA). He shared that
Alaska has the highest rate per capita of child abuse and said
the bill would ensure that the state's legal system keeps pace
with emerging threats by addressing a critical gap in state law.
Advances in AI technology has allowed for the generation of
images that are indistinguishable from real children, which has
a profound lifelong impact [on victims]. He said CSAM
normalizes exploitation, fuels demand, and perpetuates harm.
The bill would interrupt that cycle and align the state with the
national and international legal landscape to ensure that
individuals who create, possess, or distribute this content can
be held accountable. He urged support for the bill.
2:34:21 PM
CHAIR GRAY opened public testimony on HB 47.
2:34:46 PM
COLETTA WALKER, representing self, testified in support of HB
47. She said Alaska's children deserve protection, not
loopholes for predators. She said she would like to see the
state rise up to the occasion and be at the forefront with
strong legislation against these perpetrators.
2:35:59 PM
CHAIR GRAY closed public testimony and announced that CSHB
47(CRA) would be held over.