Missouri lawmakers take hard look at regulating AI

By: Mitchell Kaminski

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) -- Missouri lawmakers are taking a hard look at regulating artificial intelligence, focusing on images and videos created without consent. 

The House Emerging Issues Committee held a public hearing on Monday to examine a series of bills that would expand criminal and civil penalties for nonconsensual AI-generated content.

Lawmakers emphasized the rapid growth of AI technology has outpaced existing laws, creating gaps in protections for individuals and raising the need to hold creators and platforms accountable.

Committee members also noted more than 30 states already have laws addressing AI-generated images -- which comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December limiting states enforcing their own regulations -- and discussed a possible “sunset” provision to test whether definitions hold up over time.

The bills under consideration cover a range of issues:

• Rep. Sheri Gallick (R-Bates County), HB 2350 – Expands Missouri’s criminal definitions of child pornography and explicit sexual material to include “artificially generated visual depictions” of minors.
• Rep. Jeff Farnum (R-Atchison County), HB 2035 – Makes it illegal to use AI to replicate or alter a person’s image or voice to create sexual material without written consent. Victims could sue for damages and attorney’s fees, and the Missouri Attorney General could investigate violations.
• Rep. Bill Lucas (R-Jefferson County), HB 2321 – Establishes the “AI-Generated Content Accountability and Privacy Protection Act of 2026,” making it a crime to knowingly publish or distribute AI-generated content depicting someone without consent. Penalties range from fines up to $110,000 and prison terms up to five years, with exceptions for satire, art, journalism and research.
• Rep. Melissa Schmidt (R-Wright County), HB 2361 – Creates a class C felony for creating, soliciting, promoting, or possessing nonconsensual altered sexual depictions. Online platforms would be required to remove reported content within 48 hours. Civil lawsuits would also be allowed for damages, injunctions and attorney’s fees.
• Rep. Cecelie Williams (R-Jefferson County), HB 1913 – Allows victims to sue if an “intimate digital depiction” is shared without consent and creates criminal penalties for knowingly or recklessly disclosing such material. Disclaimers are not a defense, and internet and telecommunications providers are shielded from liability.
• Rep. Wendy Hausman (R-St. Charles), HB 1887 (“The Taylor Swift Act”) – Permits individuals, including minors, to sue if digital depictions are shared without consent and imposes criminal penalties for reckless or intentional disclosure, including Class E and Class C felonies for repeat offenses.
• Rep. Dave Dolan (R-Scott), HB 2862 – Targets digital impersonation, allowing Missouri residents to seek declaratory relief, injunctions, and damages if images or recordings misrepresent them, including cases tied to paid advertisements. Parents or guardians may act on behalf of minors or incapacitated individuals.

Committee members emphasized that the bills are too important to rush and suggested consolidating the proposals into a single package before a vote, ensuring that Missouri has clear and enforceable protections as AI technology continues to evolve.