The House Judiciary Criminal Committee approved a bill designed to prevent the unauthorized sharing of digitized depictions of individuals.

Rep. Neil Hays, R-Checotah, authored House Bill 3073, which criminalizes publishing or distributing digitized representations of someone else's name, image, voice, or likeness without their written consent and with the intent to harm.

Hays argued this bill is necessary to address the increasing prevalence of such acts in today's digital age, particularly with the rise of artificial intelligence.

"Our goal here is not to regulate artificial intelligence but to ensure that its application is not weaponized against individuals," Hays said. "In a tech-driven world, we must commit to protecting the public from the dangers of online deception."

The measure introduces misdemeanor and felony charges for sharing and publishing specific digitized content. A first offense is a misdemeanor, while a second offense becomes a felony, punishable by at least one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. Failure to disclose that an image is digitized will result in a misdemeanor. 

HB3073 is now eligible to be considered by the full House.