For Release: June 11, 2024
Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) sent a letter to Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY) and U.S. House leadership on behalf of a bipartisan coalition of 44 state and territory attorneys general endorsing the Child Exploitation and Artificial Intelligence Expert Commission Act of 2024. The Act was sponsored by Rep. Langworthy and co-sponsored by a bipartisan 16-member coalition. The full letter is located on the Association’s website.
The Act would establish a commission to “investigate and make recommendations on solutions to improve the ability of a law enforcement agency to prevent, detect, and prosecute child exploitation crimes committed using artificial intelligence.”
In the letter, the attorneys general note that while AI can be a useful tool for changing the world for the better, it also carries risks. “A knife or hammer is a useful tool in the right hands. But in the wrong hands, it’s a dangerous weapon. It’s the same with AI,” the attorneys general wrote in the letter. “We are hopeful the creation and work of this commission will result in appropriate safety measures and updates to existing laws so we can protect children from being digitally exploited and hold criminals accountable.”
The Child Exploitation and Artificial Intelligence Expert Commission Act of 2024 was authored following a September 2023 letter coordinated by NAAG that was signed by 54 state attorneys general. That letter is available here.
The following states and territories joined today’s letter:
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
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The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) is the nonpartisan national forum for America’s attorneys general and their staff. NAAG provides a community for members to collaboratively address issues important to their work and resources to support attorneys general in protecting the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
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