This bill makes several changes in the Maine Criminal Code to protect children and adults from sexual abuse that is facilitated by technology, including modified images or videos of children or artificially created images of children. First, the bill defines the terms "child sexual abuse material," "identifiable child," "image," "obscene material" and "generative AI or machine learning" and amends the definition of "minor" for purposes of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 17-A, chapter 12 to ban the possession and dissemination of child sexual abuse material. The bill expands the crime of sexual exploitation of a minor by specifying that a person is guilty of sexual exploitation of a minor if knowing or intending that the conduct will be used to create an image and, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of that person or another person, the person intentionally or knowingly employs, solicits, entices, persuades or uses an identifiable child to engage in sexually explicit conduct or create child sexual abuse material. The bill further expands the crime of sexual exploitation of a minor to include a person who intentionally or knowingly modifies or alters an image to depict child sexual abuse material and the identifiable child depicted is a minor. The bill also expands that crime to prohibit a person from intentionally or knowingly manufacturing or creating an image, including generative AI or machine learning, and the person knows or should know that the material depicts child sexual abuse material and is obscene material. The bill amends the statute prohibiting possession of sexually explicit material to the crime of prohibiting possession of child sexual abuse material. A person is guilty of possession of child sexual abuse material if that person intentionally or knowingly transports, exhibits, purchases, possesses or accesses with intent to view any child sexual abuse material that the person knows or should know depicts, or has been modified to depict, an identifiable child. A person is also guilty of possession of child sexual abuse material if the person intentionally or knowingly transports, exhibits, purchases, possesses or accesses with intent to view any child sexual abuse material, including an image created
43 using generative AI or machine learning, or material that the person knows or has reason
44 to know depicts a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene material. The bill also expands the scope of the crime of dissemination of sexually explicit material to include images created using generative AI or machine learning. The bill also expands the scope of the crime of unauthorized dissemination of certain private images in Title 17-A, section 511-A. A person is guilty of unauthorized dissemination of certain private images if the person, with the intent to harass, torment or threaten the depicted person or another person, intentionally or knowingly disseminates, displays or publishes an image of another person in a state of nudity or engaged in a sexual act or engaged in sexual contact or creates or modifies an image to represent the depicted person in a state of nudity or engaged in a sexual act or engaged in sexual contact in a manner in which there is no public or newsworthy purpose. Finally, the bill expands the definition of "abuse" under the protection from abuse laws to allow a person to seek a protection order against another person who communicates to the person a threat to commit, or cause to be committed, a crime of unauthorized dissemination of certain private images.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 1944, HP 1303: 17-A.281, 17-A.282, 17-A.283, 17-A.284, 17-A.511, 19-A.4102