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Senate bans AI 'notification' apps that generate nonconsensual nudified images; bill passes unanimously
Summary
The Senate passed House File 1606 to prohibit AI-driven "notification" tools that create nonconsensual nudified images and videos, directing penalties toward crime victim services; sponsors said the ban prevents creation of child and adult image-based sexual abuse material and funds victim support.
The Senate approved House File 1606 on April 29, 2026, a bill that bars so-called "notification" AI tools that convert private photos into nudified or sexually explicit images without the subject’s consent.
Sponsor Senator Mayquaid framed the bill as a victim-protection measure. "Image-based sexual abuse is sexual abuse," she said on the floor, urging senators to block the technology at its source. She and other backers said the technology is widely available and easy to use — often marketed to minors — and that creating and disseminating such images has already produced serious harm.
The floor debate also considered companion amendments that would have added criminal penalties aimed at users of the technology; sponsors of the base bill and many supporters argued the priority should be to make the tools unavailable and to fund crime-victim services using penalties. Senator Uma Verbaten noted the bill’s appropriations language directs fines to crime victim services, a point she said would help local advocates respond to increased demand.
Lawmakers on both sides described chilling anecdotes and recent national cases in which hundreds of children were victimized by AI-produced images; sponsors said the ban is intended to stop creation rather than rely solely on criminal prosecutions after harm is done. The Senate passed HF 1606 unanimously, 65–0.
What’s next: The bill now moves to final enrolment and to the governor for signature. If enacted it will require platforms and services to disable notification functions that enable automated nudification and set civil and/or criminal penalties as provided in the statute, with fines allocated in part to crime victim services for mitigation and survivor assistance.
(Reporting note: all quotes and vote tallies are drawn from the Senate floor transcript.)
