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.