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Assembly committee advances bill to make AI-generated sextortion a prosecutable extortion tool
Summary
The Assembly Public Safety Committee voted to send AB 355, a measure to clarify that using AI-generated images for sextortion is extortion, to the Appropriations Committee after debate over vagueness and First Amendment concerns.
Assemblymember Sanchez presented AB 355 to the Assembly Standing Committee on Public Safety, saying the bill would “provide clarity as to the illegality of using AI generated images for extortion purposes.” The committee voted to pass the measure to the Appropriations Committee.
The bill’s supporters, including Orange County Deputy Sheriff Investigator Brendan Billinger and representatives from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the California District Attorneys Association, described a rise in sextortion cases that use AI-generated images to coerce victims. Billinger cited a 2023 FBI alert and statistics he attributed to federal investigations: “From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI and Homeland Security investigation received over 13,000 reports” of online financial sextortion of minors, and “at least 20 suicides,” according to his presentation.
Opponents led by George Grama, legislative attorney with ACLU California Action, and Glenn Backus of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights argued AB 355 was constitutionally vague and overbroad. Grama said the bill “does not define what technologies are AI nor does it explain what sort of AI content is disfigured,” raising due-process and First Amendment concerns. Backus and other defense- and civil-liberties-aligned groups warned the measure could be used unevenly by prosecutors and urged additional precision.
Assemblymember Sanchez told the committee her office is working with opponents to address vagueness concerns. After member questions, the committee adopted the motion to pass AB 355 to Appropriations; the chair recorded the vote as a 7-0 passage to the next fiscal committee.
The committee exchange focused on definitions (what qualifies as “AI-generated”) and the statutory reach of the proposal; several speakers requested clearer statutory language to limit prosecutorial discretion and to avoid chilling protected speech.
AB 355 now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, with the author committed to further amendments addressing concerns raised in testimony.
