Committee hears testimony on bill to expand unlawful dissemination law to cover AI-generated intimate images

The House Committee on Judiciary held a public hearing Thursday on House Bill 2,299, a proposal to expand Oregon’s crime of unlawful dissemination of an intimate image to explicitly include digitally created, manipulated or altered depictions that are reasonably realistic, including those produced with artificial intelligence.

Proponents told the committee that current law, enacted in 2015, does not clearly cover AI‑generated “intimate deepfakes,” leaving victims without an avenue for criminal prosecution. Representative Kevin Mannix, a chief sponsor, said HB 2,299 would divide the offense into degrees based on the offender’s mental state and raise penalties for first‑degree unlawful dissemination to a class C felony on a first offense and a class B felony for repeat offenses. "This bill fixes that gap by changing the definition of image to include digitally created, manipulated or altered depictions that are reasonably realistic," Mannix said.

Why it matters: Supporters said advances in…