BATON ROUGE – Rep. Bryan Fontenot, R-Thibodaux, proposed a bill on Wednesday making it a felony to possess, sell and distribute artificial intelligence-produced nudity of a minor. 

The bill received unanimous support from the House Criminal Justice Committee, and it now
advances to the House floor.

House Bill 119 introduces a new statute for the possession of artificial intelligence nudity and increases the penalty of distribution from a misdemeanor to a felony charge. The penalty would amount to five years in prison, with at least one year served without the possibility of parole or probation.

“Today’s bill is a new battle that we are on the forefront of: It is artificial intelligence,” Fontenot said.

The bill also received support from Kevin Cobb with the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association.

Joseph Daniels, whose then-13-year-old daughter was a victim of a pornographic deep fake, detailed his and his daughter’s experience. In 2025, Ivy Daniels’s likeness was used for a pornographic deep fake that Joseph says caused irreparable damage.

“As a parent, it’s incredibly difficult to watch your child go through something like that and feel like the system doesn’t take it seriously enough,” Joseph said.  

Joseph expressed his frustration with the lack of initiative by the school system toward a solution or preventative measures. He explained further that artificially generated images are difficult to remove from the internet and are created with the intent to harm.

“It wasn’t just a joke or a prank, it had real consequences,” he said. “It caused emotional distress, embarrassment and fear.”

Meghan Garvey, the legislative chair with the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, confirmed that cases where the accused is also a minor would be handled differently and would be at the discretion of the Louisiana district attorney. 

If codified into law, the bill would be referred to as “The Ivy Daniels Act,” referencing Joseph Daniels’ daughter and their testimony about the harm of pornographic deep fakes.

“A felony classification sends a real message,” Joseph said. “This is serious, this is harmful and there will be significant consequences.”