Senate Bill 347 by Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, would add sexual imagery created by artificial intelligence without the subject’s consent to the list of mandatory reporting requirements for university employees under the Campus Accountability and Safety Act.
“A college cannot look the other way,” said Rep. Terry Landry Jr., D-Baton Rouge, while presenting the bill to the House Education Committee for Barrow. “It must be addressed with the same accountability framework as all other forms of sexual misconduct.”
Under the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, employees and officials of public postsecondary institutions must report to their Title IX coordinator direct statements or witnessed events of power-based violence, which is defined as “any form of interpersonal violence intended to control or intimidate another person through the assertion of power over the person.” It includes acts such as sexual assault, stalking, voyeurism and domestic abuse.
Barrow’s bill would add deepfakes to the types of prohibited actions and change the phrase “power-based violence” to the broader “power-based conduct.”
Landry said the legislation is necessary to shield students from their likenesses being used in sexually explicit videos and images without their permission.
“Technology in the wrong hands can be used for the wrong reasons, and this is a method to protect our students,” Landry said.
If passed, the bill would also require university administrations to distribute informational content about power-based violence to students at least four times per academic year, starting with the fall 2026 semester.
The legislation was developed by the Board of Regents Power-Based Violence Review Panel, chaired by Barrow.
“This is something that has been in conjunction with the four public postsecondary systems,” said Brianna Golden, government affairs director at the Board of Regents. “This is something that we continue to work on as we make sure to constantly revisit the subject matter of power-based violence and make sure that our students are protected on college campuses.”
The bill passed the committee unanimously and will be heard on the House floor. It has already cleared the Senate.
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