U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-23, has introduced the Child Exploitation & Artificial Intelligence Expert Commission Act to address the creation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) using artificial intelligence (AI).

The legislation would establish a commission to develop a legal framework that will assist law enforcement in preventing, detecting, and prosecuting AI-generated crimes against children.

“The rapid growth of artificial intelligence poses unique challenges for protecting our children now and in the future as technology evolves,”Langworthy said. “The Child Exploitation & Artificial Intelligence Expert Commission, created by this legislation, would bring together the foremost experts in the field to develop tools to effectively prevent, detect, and prosecute child exploitation crimes. This is just the first step to confront these challenges head-on and create a safer digital environment for the most vulnerable Americans.”

Specifically, the Child Exploitation & Artificial Intelligence Expert Commission Act would: investigate and assess how artificial intelligence may be used to commit a child exploitation crime; evaluate the ability to prevent, detect, and prosecute a child exploitation crime committed using artificial intelligence under the law in effect during the period of the evaluation of the Commission; and analyze the efficacy of the current legal framework to charge individuals suspected of using AI to create CSAM and recommend changes to the current statute.

The legislation is also supported by outside groups, including: Raven, Trafficking Taskforce of America, Small and Rural Law Enforcement Executives, National White Collar Crimes Center, Foundation for Digital Innovation, AI Policy Institute, BullMoose Project, and Safe Surfin’.

U.S. Justice Department officials say AI-generated images violating federal laws concerning child protection remain a concern, though there have been few documented instances of suspects being charged or successfully prosecuted for creating such content. The lack of prosecutions raises concern about current laws. On Sept. 5, 2023, 54 state attorney generals signed a letter to the leadership of both the House and the Senate urging Congress to establish a commission studying how AI is utilized in the creation of CSAM and devise strategies to assist law enforcement in preventing, detecting and prosecuting AI-generated crimes against children.