Senate amends bill on AI-created sexual images of minors, removes 'receives' from prohibited conduct

The South Carolina Senate debated S.28 on Feb. 12, a bill that would criminalize certain uses of artificial intelligence to create sexualized images of children; senators adopted an amendment to strike the word “receives” from the list of prohibited conduct.

Supporters and some committee members said the bill aims to give prosecutors and law enforcement tools to combat AI-generated child sexual images by making it a felony to knowingly produce, distribute, solicit or possess with intent to distribute such visual depictions. The amendment adopted Thursday removes “receives” from that criminal list, a change sponsors said narrows exposure to people who unintentionally come into possession of such material.

The amendment’s sponsor said the “receives” language raised practical concerns for minors in school settings who might be sent illicit images without requesting them. That senator said retaining “solicits” — language added in an earlier amendment — better targets individuals who actively request the images. The sponsor also noted that the measure provides a different treatment for minors in some circumstances, where possession can be treated as a misdemeanor depending on specifics.

Under the version debated, the offense for knowingly producing, distributing, soliciting or possessing with intent to distribute AI-generated sexual depictions of minors carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years; the bill as discussed would not allow a suspended sentence in that felony provision, an element noted during floor remarks. Senators adopted the amendment to strike “receives” by voice vote; the clerk recorded “Ayes have it.” The motion to adopt was moved from the floor; there was no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript for that amendment vote.

Senators also discussed balancing criminal enforcement with the risk of criminalizing victims or minors who receive unsolicited material. One floor speaker said the receiving language could expose high-school students who are sent such images via text threads to felony charges even if they neither solicited nor distributed the photos. That concern was a principal reason given in support of the change.

After the amendment’s adoption, the presiding officer announced the bill as “contested,” and the debate continued; the transcript does not record a final passage vote for S.28 on Feb. 12.

The transcript shows related committee activity and prior amendments: senators previously added “solicits” to the prohibited conduct and discussed clerical and structural changes to align statutory citations. The bill remained under further consideration at the end of the floor session.

Because the measure touches criminal penalties, prosecutors and defenders will be the primary executors of the statute if enacted; the bill text as read on the floor referenced multiple code sections but did not specify implementation guidance or additional funding for enforcement in the recorded debate.

The Senate returned to other business after taking the S.28 amendment; no final passage of S.28 is recorded in the February 12 transcript.