Bipartisan legislation to protect Pennsylvania children from sexually explicit AI-generated deepfakes and hazing is headed to the governor's desk, the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Nikki Rivera, a Democrat from Lancaster, announced on Wednesday, October 21. House Bill 2474 expands the state's Child Protective Services Law to cover more forms of harm to children, including harm caused by other children.

Source: Pennsylvania House Democrats (Rep. Rivera release)

The state Senate voted unanimously for the bill earlier on Wednesday, according to Senate Republicans Tracy Pennycuick, Scott Martin and Lisa Baker. The Senate version mirrors Senate Bill 1050, which the same senators introduced in October 2025 and passed in November 2025, and was amended to add hazing-reporting provisions from Senate Bill 1456 before being sent back to the House to concur on the amendments.

Source: Pennsylvania Senate Republicans

What must now be reported — and by whom

The bill adds the unlawful distribution of intimate images, sexually abusive materials, hazing and aggravated hazing to the offences that must be reported. All mandated reporters — not just school personnel — must quickly report to Childline, the statewide hotline for reporting child abuse and well-being concerns, whenever they have reasonable cause to believe child sexual abuse material exists or that hazing or aggravated hazing has occurred. The material covered includes AI-generated material and material created or shared by a minor, and the Department of Human Services will forward each report to law enforcement. The law would take effect 90 days after enactment.

Source: Pennsylvania House Democrats (Rep. Rivera release)

Mandated reporters include teachers, childcare workers, healthcare providers and other individuals responsible for caring for children, the Senate sponsors said. Senator Baker noted that hazing is not currently considered child abuse under Pennsylvania law when one child commits it against another — a gap the amendment is meant to close.

Source: Pennsylvania Senate Republicans

Why lawmakers acted: two school deepfake cases

Rivera said the bill was prompted by two incidents in Lancaster and Bucks counties involving students using AI to spread sexually explicit images of classmates. In 2023, two students at a Lancaster County private school used AI to create sexually explicit deepfake images of 48 schoolmates and 12 other students. In 2025, two Bucks County public middle school students created sexually explicit deepfake images depicting 12 fellow students, which were then shared among other students in the district. In both cases, Rivera said, the spread of the images went unreported to law enforcement, resulting in more material being shared and more victims being targeted. No victim is named in the legislation or in lawmakers' statements, and none is named here.

Source: Pennsylvania House Democrats (Rep. Rivera release)

"The rise of AI has made our children more vulnerable to exploitation and bullying, so we're acting decisively to protect our children from this evolving threat — AI-generated deepfakes — by passing this bill," Rivera said. "House Bill 2474 makes it crystal clear that mandated reporters must immediately report to authorities when a child is creating child sexual abuse material or hazing another student." On the Senate side, Pennycuick said mandated reporting "ensures our kids are better protected from these atrocious acts," Martin said lawmakers worked with stakeholders, advocates and impacted families on the reporting duties, and Baker said clarifying reporters' responsibilities "will help ensure that every child receives the protection and support they need."

Source: Pennsylvania Senate Republicans

The vote follows earlier Pennsylvania steps on AI-generated sexual material: the Senate has previously passed Act 125 of 2024 and Act 35 of 2025 addressing deepfakes and sexual deepfakes, and has approved separate bills to ban nudification applications in the state (Senate Bill 1368) and to prevent harmful interactions with AI chatbots (Senate Bill 1090), according to the Senate sponsors. House Bill 2474 was introduced in April 2026.

Source: Pennsylvania Senate Republicans