Thanks to the efforts of a 15-year-old American girl, a new law will soon ban the making and sharing of fake, explicit images depicting minors in her home state of Washington. I spoke to him and I tell you about his struggle.
In the fall of 2023, Caroline Mullet’s friends discover that photos of them taken during their New Year’s dance are circulating on the Internet. But in these photos, they are naked! However, they were dressed at the ball! A student had created, using an application, photos where they appeared “naked”. The girls were devastated.
“The mother of one of the girls had to send a message to management for the boy to be punished,” Caroline tells me. The student was suspended from school and kicked off the football team.
AI faster than laws
At the time, there was no law prohibiting the making and distribution of fake sexual photos.
Caroline therefore decided to talk to her father about it. Mark Mullet is a dad…and a senator in the state of Washington. Senators work in government. One of their responsibilities is to propose new laws. “I had never really talked to my father about anything related to his work,” Caroline admits. I didn’t realize it was going to get this big! »
On the way to a law!
With his colleagues, Caroline’s father began working on a bill to prevent artificial intelligence from being used to create sexual images showing children or adolescents. In January, the project was presented to other politicians.
“My father asked me if my friends wanted to testify, but they were uncomfortable, so I decided to do it for them,” Caroline explains to me. So she told the story of her friends.
“I was a little nervous, because I was speaking in front of a lot of important people, but I’m glad I was able to say what I thought. »
And then… success! The law will come into force in June. People who violate it could be prosecuted.
What does Caroline think of this whole story? ” It’s crazy ! And now other states are working on similar laws! It is cool to speak and see things change! »
Caroline Bouffard
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