BY senator Tracy Pennycuick – Pennsylvania 24th District serving Montgomery & Berks Counties
In a Lancaster County courtroom in Pennsylvania this spring, young girls described the anxiety, humiliation and loss of trust they experienced after classmates used artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit images of them.
The two teenagers responsible had used ordinary photographs taken from social media, school yearbooks and FaceTime conversations. Investigators ultimately recovered 347 fabricated images and videos involving 59 minor female victims.
The victims had done nothing wrong. Yet they were forced to identify their own faces in fabricated pornography and live with the fear that those images could resurface at any time.
This case forced Pennsylvania to confront an uncomfortable reality: Technology can create new forms of abuse faster than our laws, schools and child-protection systems can adapt. Protecting children in the digital age is therefore not simply a technology issue. It is a public health issue, a public safety issue and a fundamental part of building healthy communities.
As chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Communications and Technology Committee, I have seen artificial intelligence open extraordinary opportunities in health care, education and our economy. I have also seen how the same speed, affordability and accessibility that make AI useful can place powerful tools in the hands of those seeking to exploit others.
Just a few years ago, Pennsylvania law clearly covered sexually explicit photographs taken with a camera, but it did not adequately address images created entirely by a computer or authentic photographs manipulated through artificial intelligence.
That distinction may have mattered in legal language. It meant nothing to a victim.
To close that gap, I sponsored Senate Bill 1213. The legislation made clear that AI-generated child sexual abuse material falls under Pennsylvania’s criminal laws and expanded protections against the nonconsensual dissemination of artificially generated sexual images. It passed both chambers unanimously and became Act 125 of 2024.
The law is already being used in dozens of new disturbing cases filed by prosecutors.
The Lancaster case, however, exposed another gap. Under existing law, school personnel were not required to report certain child-on-child incidents involving AI-generated child sexual abuse material to ChildLine.
In response, I introduced Senate Bill 1050, which would require mandated reporters to report child sexual abuse material, including AI-generated content, even when it is created by another minor. The Senate passed the bill unanimously, and it is now awaiting action in the House of Representatives.
These cases demonstrate why Pennsylvania, and other states, cannot wait for the next tragedy to reveal the next weakness in our laws. That is why the Senate adopted my resolution creating the Task Force on Child Protection in the Digital Age.
The task force will bring together the Office of Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police, prosecutors, investigators, victim advocates, child-protection professionals, medical experts, technology specialists and others with direct experience confronting the exploitation of children.
Its mission is straightforward: continually examine how emerging technologies are affecting children, identify gaps in Pennsylvania law and recommend improvements to prevention, investigation, prosecution and victim support.
Importantly, this will not be a one-time study. The task force will issue its first report by November 30, 2027, and then reconvene for additional reviews every two years. That recurring structure matters because the technology we are confronting will not stand still.
Today, the threat may be a “nudification” application that digitally removes a person’s clothing. Tomorrow, it may be a companion chatbot that encourages self-harm, an algorithm that connects children with predators or a new form of manipulation we have not yet encountered.
The task force is not a substitute for immediate action. The Senate has already passed legislation establishing safeguards for AI chatbots interacting with minors, and we are advancing legislation to prohibit nudification applications from being offered through online marketplaces in Pennsylvania. The task force will help ensure those efforts remain effective as technology changes.
Local government officials also have an important role. Municipal police departments, libraries, recreation programs, schools, emergency responders and community organizations are often among the first to recognize emerging threats or hear from affected families.
Municipal leaders can help by supporting training for local law enforcement, strengthening relationships among police, schools and victim-service organizations, and sharing reliable prevention and reporting resources with parents. Most importantly, communities must treat AI-generated exploitation as serious abuse, not as a harmless prank simply because the image was digitally fabricated.
A healthy community is not measured only by the quality of its roads, water or public spaces. It is also measured by whether children feel safe at school, online and in their own neighborhoods and whether victims know they will be taken seriously when they ask for help.
During my 26 years in the Army, I learned that changing conditions do not mean abandoning the mission. You update the flight plan, verify your instruments and keep everyone communicating.
Artificial intelligence is changing the conditions around us at extraordinary speed. Our mission, however, remains constant: protect children, support victims and ensure that innovation serves our communities rather than those who seek to exploit them.
The Task Force on Child Protection in the Digital Age will help Pennsylvania remain focused on that mission—not just today, but as the next generation of technology arrives.
Article from the August 2026 Municipal Reporter | Public Health
