Senate, House pass bills to protect kids from AI, internet crimes
CHEYENNE — Lawmakers have approved additional money for investigating, as well as stronger penalties for those who perpetuate internet crimes against children, including using artificial intelligence to do so.
On Thursday, the Senate approved House Bill 102, “Protecting kids from deepfakes and exploitative images,” on third reading. HB 102 creates three new crimes under state law: the first is the unlawful distribution of nonconsensual synthetic sexual material; the second is unlawful development or distribution of artificial intelligence systems for child pornography; and the third is the unlawful development or distribution of artificial intelligence systems intended to promote self-harm, according to Sen. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne.
All would be felony offenses with a penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
“(This) protects privacy and dignity of individuals from nonconsensual synthetic sexual materials,” Rep. Jayme Lien, R-Casper, who is a sponsor on HB 102, said during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on the bill. “It protects children from sexually exploitive, AI-generated child pornography. It also outlaws AI-generated child pornography.”
The House approved Senate File 85, “RAVEN Act,” on third reading Thursday, which allocates $1.6 million from the state’s General Fund to the Attorney General’s Office. If signed into law, the funding would be used to strengthen the existing Internet Crimes Against Children division of the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
“I am thrilled to have passed this legislation empowering Wyoming’s top crime fighters in combating child exploitation,” Rep. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in a text message after the House vote on the bill.
“The passage of the RAVEN Act will ensure child predators are caught and Wyoming’s children are protected,” said Nethercott, who was a sponsor of SF 85.
According to Olsen, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported more than 440,000 AI-generated child sexual abuse materials in 2025.
“That’s a staggering 1,325% surge from prior years,” Olsen said, adding that House Bill 102 also adds to existing law regarding sexual exploitation of a child “that if you knowingly use an artificial intelligence system to generate or create child pornography, you can be found guilty of sexual exploitation, or if you possess child pornography that the person knows was generated by an AI system, you can be found guilty of sexual exploitation.”
Similar bills are springing up across the country, he said, as new technologies test current law.
“I think it’s very prudent that Wyoming get ahead of the game because this is a growing problem across the country,” he said.
Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, said the law will always chase technology as it evolves, but that lawmakers should continue to update the state’s laws.
“I don’t think there’s any way that we’re going to be able to get ahead of this,” Hicks said. “It’s going to be something that we continue going to have to track and come back and update. No different than we see with some of the illicit drug trade in the United States.”
This story was published on March 6, 2026.