The Rhode Island House of Representatives recently approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Jason Knight (D-Dist. 67, Barrington and Warren) to update the state’s “revenge porn” law to include content generated using artificial intelligence to impose a person’s likeness onto sexually explicit material.

The existing statute, adopted in 2018, prohibited unauthorized dissemination of sexually explicit images of another person. 

Rep. Knight’s legislation (2025-H 5046) expands it to apply to images created by a digital device or altered by digitization, often referred to as deepfakes.

“Victims of technically enabled sexual exploitation have no involvement in the making of any of this material and of course, gave no consent,” Rep. Knight said. “Once the images are shared, there’s no way to take them back, so the harm is permanent. Celebrities and politicians have been targeted by this practice for several years, and now the technology is so widely available that average citizens are also being victimized.

“Without question, deepfake porn is a heinous criminal act, and it should be subject to the laws that prohibit the distribution of sexually exploitative material.”

As of last June, 27 states had enacted laws prohibiting technology-enabled sexual exploitation, including New York, whose law Rep. Knight used as a source for the text in his bill.

The legislation now goes to the Senate, where Sen. Andrew R. Dimitri (D-Dist. 25, Johnston) has introduced companion legislation (2025-S 0355).