HARRISBURG, PA – October 28, 2025 − Today, State Senator James Andrew Malone’s legislation to protect minors from sexually explicit AI deepfakes advanced through the Judiciary Committee as an amendment to State Senator Tracy Pennycuick’s legislation that deals with child sexual abuse materials generated by artificial intelligence (SB 1050). Like Senator Malone’s initial bill, his amendment will require all mandated reporters, such as school personnel, to immediately report incidents of children sharing intimate or sexually explicit images of other children, including sexually explicit AI deepfakes, to the appropriate authorities.
“When the possibility of moving my legislation forward as an amendment to my Republican colleagues’ legislation was raised, I jumped at the opportunity,” said Senator Malone. “At the end of the day, I’m here to get things done and protect our kids. I owe that to them and the families in my district who were impacted by the tragic incident at Lancaster Country Day School. I’m grateful to Senator Pennycuick and the Judiciary Committee for their efforts around this issue and for working with me to close this reporting gap.”
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 the appropriate authorities for several months, revealing a critical gap in Title 23, Pennsylvania’s mandatory reporting law.
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.
In response to outreach from victims and their families, Senator Malone 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. The bill would have protected children by amending the child-on-child contact section of Title 23 (Section 6304) to include unlawful dissemination of intimate images and sexual abuse of children, like the use of sexually explicit AI deepfakes involving minors.
Now, Senator Malone’s reporting fix will advance to the Senate floor as part of SB 1050, which was unanimously reported, as amended, out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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