Attorney General Alan Wilson applauds legislative advances to protect South Carolina’s children

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson today voiced strong support for four critical bills aimed at combating child exploitation and strengthening protections for children across the state. The legislative package, championed by the Joint Citizens & Legislative Committee on Children, reflects the state’s commitment to addressing emerging threats like AI-generated child abuse material, morphed pornography, and enhancing child advocacy efforts. 

“These bills are a crucial step forward in ensuring South Carolina remains at the forefront of protecting our children,” said Attorney General Wilson. “As technology evolves, so do the dangers our kids face. We must act swiftly to close legal loopholes and give law enforcement the tools needed to combat these horrific crimes.” 

The bills that recently crossed over include: 

• 28 – Criminalizing AI-generated child abuse material.
• 29 – Addressing morphed pornography of identifiable children.
• 74 – Strengthening administrative subpoena powers (endorsed).
• 3654 – Updating and improving the Department of Children’s Advocacy.

Attorney General Wilson has long been a leader in the fight against child exploitation, both in South Carolina and nationally. In 2024, he led a bipartisan coalition of 44 attorneys general in endorsing the Child Exploitation and Artificial Intelligence Expert Commission Act of 2024, a federal effort to examine AI-generated child sexual abuse material and recommend solutions for law enforcement to prevent, detect, and prosecute these crimes. His office also leads the South Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which has played a pivotal role in investigating and prosecuting offenders who target minors online. This act was in response to the bi-partisan effort he led that resulted in all 50 states and four territories calling on Congress to establish an expert commission to determine how artificial intelligence (AI) was being used to exploit children and recommended legislation based on the commission’s findings.  

“This is a situation where our laws have not kept up with technology,” Wilson added. “Someone can use artificial intelligence to create child sexual abuse material of a child that doesn’t really exist or take innocent photos of a real child from social media and use AI to generate explicit content. These bills ensure South Carolina has strong protections in place to hold offenders accountable.” 

Attorney General Wilson remains committed to advocating for stronger laws, tougher penalties for predators, and enhanced resources for law enforcement agencies combating child exploitation. He urges the legislature to pass these bills into law without delay.