COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A recently introduced Ohio bill would regulate artificial intelligence in the state, including simulated child sexual abuse material and content mimicking people without their consent.
Senate Bill 163, sponsored by Sens. Louis Blessing III (R-Colerain Township) and Terry Johnson (R-McDermott), would prohibit creating or distributing sexual images of children generated by AI. Current state laws surrounding child pornography leave loopholes for AI materials that are not based on a real person, Blessing said.
“There is a gray area in the law where somebody possesses child pornography, for example, but it's AI-generated and it's not an actual person, you really can't go after them easily,” Blessing said.
Why this transgender Ohioan says he’s leaving the stateIntroduced in April, the bill would classify creating child sexual abuse material using AI as a third-degree felony, and buying or possessing it as a fourth-degree felony. In Ohio, third-degree felonies typically carry a sentence of nine months to three years in prison, in addition to a possible fine of up to $10,000.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a nonprofit that runs an online tip line for child exploitation, reported that from 2022 to 2024, it received over 7,000 reports of child sexual abuse material involving AI. If SB 163 passes, Ohio will join 38 states that have enacted laws to criminalize AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
The bill’s AI regulations extend beyond sexual images of children, and also prohibit computer-generated identity fraud. This includes replicating a person’s image, voice or likeness to illegally obtain money or damage their reputation. This would include any sexual or obscene material portraying a person without their consent.
Under the bill, identity fraud using AI is generally a fifth-degree felony, but the charge could be escalated depending on a variety of factors, including previous related offenses and whether other statutes were violated in carrying out the crime. The bill would permit a person whose identity is unlawfully replicated to sue their offender.
The bill would also require creators of AI products that are accessible in the state to watermark them. This would not be a visual watermark, but rather exist in the file's metadata, identifying it as AI-generated. The watermarks would be detectable by computer programs, rather than the human eye. Currently, most mainstream social media platforms use metadata to flag content as AI.
“It actually kind of protects the business to some degree by including that watermark,” Blessing said. “It's like, ‘Hey, we're including it with all of our software, if somebody removed this to use it in a bad way that's that's on them.’’
Under the legislation, those found removing watermarks could be fined up to $10,000 by the attorney general. Residents harmed by a violation of this rule could also file a civil lawsuit. Blessing said throughout the bill’s hearings, lawmakers will likely work on amending the bill to determine a date the watermark needs to be effective by to give entities time to implement the rule.
Blessing and Johnson introduced similar legislation in the last General Assembly, Senate Bill 217, which received three hearings but ultimately did not reach a vote before the end of the session.
A group of six entities, including the company NetChoice and Computer & Communications Industry Association, signed testimony in opposition to the bill. The organizations expressed concern that the watermark requirement in the bill may not currently be technologically feasible.
Game against Columbus Blades boosts Buckeyes’ spirits“Responsible digital service providers have already taken aggressive steps to moderate dangerous and illegal content, consistent with their terms of service,” the written testimony reads. “SB 217 is not limited to high-risk cases, but instead, is targeted towards any AI-developed product.”
Three individuals testified in support of the bill, including the Center for Christian Virtue, the consumer rights nonprofit Public Citizen and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Office, who originally brought the issue to Blessing's attention.
“We need to ensure there are guardrails on the use of AI so that, intentionally or unintentionally, it doesn’t ruin a kid’s life,” a spokesperson with the attorney general’s office said.
SB 163 awaits proponent and opponent testimony. It currently has two Democrat cosponsors.
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