Source: ABC News

ABC News reports that Australian independent MP Kate Chaney is set to introduce a private member's bill to federal parliament aimed at criminalizing the development and distribution of artificial intelligence tools used to create child abuse material. Dubbed "Gretel's Law," the proposed legislation seeks to close a loophole in existing laws, which primarily focus on the possession and distribution of the abusive content itself, rather than the underlying technology used to generate it. The bill would make it an offense to create, supply, or possess AI software for the purpose of producing synthetic child abuse imagery.

The initiative is a response to the rapid proliferation of generative AI technologies that can create photorealistic images and videos from simple text prompts, posing a grave new threat to child safety. Proponents of the bill, including law enforcement and child protection advocates, argue that a proactive legal approach is needed to tackle the problem at its source. By criminalizing the tools themselves, "Gretel's Law" aims to disrupt the supply chain of AI-generated child abuse material and hold the creators and distributors of such malicious software accountable, providing a stronger deterrent against this form of digital exploitation.