In June 2025, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 741 into law, making it one of the first U.S. states to criminalize the use of artificial intelligence to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The legislation, which takes effect on July 1, 2025, explicitly bans the possession, distribution, and production of AI tools created to generate such material.
Under the law, possession of AI-generated CSAM is classified as a Class E felony, distribution as a Class C felony, and production as a Class B felony. The measure was designed to close a legal loophole that previously made it difficult to prosecute AI-generated child abuse imagery that did not involve real children but posed comparable threats to public safety and victim dignity.
The bill was introduced amid growing concern over how generative AI models could be misused to produce hyperrealistic yet synthetic sexual images of minors. Lawmakers in Tennessee have argued that while such images may not depict actual children, they normalize abuse and fuel harmful online subcultures.
The law includes language to ensure it does not unintentionally criminalize legitimate AI development. It targets tools designed to generate exploitative content, rather than general-purpose models. This balance was a key point of debate, as the bill sought to protect minors while allowing innovation to continue.
Tennessee’s new law could serve as a blueprint for similar legislation in other states or at the federal level, particularly as lawmakers grapple with regulating harmful AI applications while preserving technological progress nationwide.
Fox17 Nashville. (2025, June 1). Governor Lee signs law targeting AI-generated child pornography to protect minors. https://fox17.com/news/local/governor-lee-signs-law-targeting-ai-generated-child-pornography-to-protect-minors-google-trends-artificial-intelligence
#AI #Legislation #Tennessee #ChildProtection #Cybercrime
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