Pennsylvania Unlawful Dissemination of Intimate Image, AI Amendment (HB 2252)

Properties

kind: law
target: likeness
jurisdiction: US, Pennsylvania
mechanism: Amends 18 Pa.C.S. 3131 (unlawful dissemination of intimate image) to add a new offense for disseminating an 'artificially generated intimate image' of an individual, replacing the prior narrower 'artificially generated sexual depiction' term. The bill defines the new term verbatim as: an image that (1) 'appears to authentically depict an intimate image of an individual that did not occur in reality' or (2) 'was produced substantially by technical means, including artificial intelligence or photo editing software, rather than by the ability of another person to physically impersonate the individual.' The amendment also removes the prior blanket requirement that dissemination be done 'with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another' for the base offense, while adding intent-based aggravating factors (harassment, harm, profit, or sexual gratification) that elevate grading to a first-degree misdemeanor; consent of the depicted person remains a defense.
status: committee
owns: Distinct from pa-digital-forgery-act (Act 35 of 2025, a fraud/injury-intent criminal offense covering forged voice, image, video, or audio broadly) by amending Pennsylvania's existing nonconsensual-intimate-image statute specifically, dropping the harassment-intent element for the base offense, and defining 'artificially generated intimate image' as its own statutory term scoped to sexual imagery rather than the broader 'digital forgery' concept.
source: Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 2252, Printer's No. 2945 (introduced text)
notes: Introduced February 26, 2026 by Rep. Kinkead and 20 co-sponsors; referred to House Judiciary Committee same day. Passed the full House 202-0 on June 10, 2026 and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 18, 2026, per secondary reporting (Pennsylvania Capital-Star, Lower Bucks Times); no confirmed Senate action found within the 2026-08-05 to 2026-08-19 window, so status is recorded as 'committee' (Senate Judiciary). Section 2 of the printed bill (PN2945) sets a 60-day effective date after enactment; this text reflects the bill as introduced/House-passed, prior to any Senate amendments.

Provenance

Source: https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/text/PDF/2025/0/HB2252/PN2945

Properties

kind

law

target

likeness

jurisdiction

US, Pennsylvania

mechanism

Amends 18 Pa.C.S. 3131 (unlawful dissemination of intimate image) to add a new offense for disseminating an 'artificially generated intimate image' of an individual, replacing the prior narrower 'artificially generated sexual depiction' term. The bill defines the new term verbatim as: an image that (1) 'appears to authentically depict an intimate image of an individual that did not occur in reality' or (2) 'was produced substantially by technical means, including artificial intelligence or photo editing software, rather than by the ability of another person to physically impersonate the individual.' The amendment also removes the prior blanket requirement that dissemination be done 'with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another' for the base offense, while adding intent-based aggravating factors (harassment, harm, profit, or sexual gratification) that elevate grading to a first-degree misdemeanor; consent of the depicted person remains a defense.

status

committee

owns

Distinct from pa-digital-forgery-act (Act 35 of 2025, a fraud/injury-intent criminal offense covering forged voice, image, video, or audio broadly) by amending Pennsylvania's existing nonconsensual-intimate-image statute specifically, dropping the harassment-intent element for the base offense, and defining 'artificially generated intimate image' as its own statutory term scoped to sexual imagery rather than the broader 'digital forgery' concept.

source

Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 2252, Printer's No. 2945 (introduced text)

notes

Introduced February 26, 2026 by Rep. Kinkead and 20 co-sponsors; referred to House Judiciary Committee same day. Passed the full House 202-0 on June 10, 2026 and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 18, 2026, per secondary reporting (Pennsylvania Capital-Star, Lower Bucks Times); no confirmed Senate action found within the 2026-08-05 to 2026-08-19 window, so status is recorded as 'committee' (Senate Judiciary). Section 2 of the printed bill (PN2945) sets a 60-day effective date after enactment; this text reflects the bill as introduced/House-passed, prior to any Senate amendments.