HARRISBURG, PA – October 3, 2025 − Today, State Senator James Andrew Malone (D-36, Lancaster) announced that he introduced legislation to protect minors from sexually explicit AI deepfakes by requiring mandated reporters, such as school personnel, to report all incidents of minors sharing sexually explicit material of other minors. State Representative Nikki Rivera (D-96, Lancaster) has introduced companion legislation in the PA House.
In 2023, 48 female students at Lancaster Country Day School and 12 other girls were victims of sexually explicit deepfake images generated by two male students using AI. School officials were made aware of the abuse but did not report it to law enforcement for several months, revealing a critical gap in Pennsylvania’s mandatory reporting laws.
In response to outreach from one of the victims and her family, Senator Malone introduced legislation titled “Mandatory Means Mandatory: Closing Reporting Gaps in Title 23” (SB 1034). The bill will protect children by amending the child-on-child contact section of Pennsylvania’s mandatory reporting law to include unlawful dissemination of intimate images and sexual abuse of children, such as the use of sexually explicit AI deepfakes involving minors. This will close the reporting gap and ensure that all instances of child sexual abuse imagery are recognized and reported to the appropriate authorities immediately.
“With the rapid development of AI, threats to our kids online are always evolving,” said Senator Malone. “Sexually explicit AI deepfakes are a real danger to our kids, and we need to modernize our laws to address this threat. My legislation is a common-sense update to mandatory reporting requirements in Pennsylvania that helps protect kids by making sure instances of sexually explicit AI deepfakes being disseminated by other minors are immediately reported to the appropriate authorities.”
Under Title 23 in Pennsylvania, all school personnel are required to report child abuse. However, children sharing sexually explicit material of other children, such as sexually explicit AI deepfakes, does not currently fall under the statute’s definition of abuse.
“It’s time we update our mandatory reporting laws to protect kids in this new digital landscape created by AI,” said State Representative Rivera. “This update takes seriously the long-lasting damage caused by sexually explicit AI-generated deepfakes of minors and will ensure cases involving the dissemination of this content are addressed immediately.”
According to a survey from Thorn, one in eight teens know someone who has experienced an AI deepfake, and technological advances will only increase this threat. This legislation will ensure that all child sexual abuse imagery is reported to the appropriate authorities in school settings.
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