Australia to Introduce Bill Criminalizing AI Tools for Child Abuse

Independent MP Kate Chaney is preparing to introduce a bill in the Australian House of Representatives aimed at criminalizing the possession, distribution, and development of AI tools specifically designed to generate child sexual abuse material. This legislative move seeks to address a significant gap in current laws, which do not specifically prohibit the use of AI technologies for creating such content.

The proposed bill comes in response to the increasing accessibility and spread of AI tools that enable the on-demand creation of child abuse imagery. These tools allow perpetrators to train AI with images of real children, delete the original material to avoid detection, and continue generating new content with word prompts. This capability poses a substantial risk to children and complicates law enforcement efforts.

The legislation will introduce new offenses, including using a carriage service to download, access, supply, or facilitate technologies designed to create child abuse material. It will also criminalize scraping or distributing data with the intention of training or creating these AI tools. The penalties for these offenses could include a maximum prison term of 15 years, with exemptions for law enforcement and intelligence agencies authorized to investigate child abuse crimes.

The bill follows recommendations from a recent roundtable discussion on AI and child exploitation, which called for urgent action to outlaw these tools. Child safety experts and advocates, including former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, have emphasized the need for swift legislative action to protect children online. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has acknowledged the gap in current laws and reiterated the government's commitment to combating child sexual exploitation and abuse.