NEVADA, Iowa — A new Iowa law is tackling a form of harassment we might not have seen even a year or two ago. Starting July 1, it will be illegal for anyone to use technology, like artificial intelligence generators, to make fake, explicit images based off of real minors.
Anyone over 18 found doing so will be required to register as a sex offender and could face up to two years in prison.
Parents in Nevada said the law doesn't take effect soon enough. That's because some AI generated photos of their children are already circulating online.
The superintendent of Nevada Community School District told Local 5 parents made them aware of nude, AI-generated photos of students spreading around the high school.
Nevada parent Ida Indy said she's been trying to make sense of how manipulated nude photos of her child are being shared within the district.
"When I found out, the school had already said they weren't, there's not a lot they could do," Indy said. "So she was frustrated with knowing that. as of that point, nothing is happening,"
The Nevada school district said, once they received reports of these photos, they immediately turned the information over to local law enforcement, saying in part: "We have no indication or evidence of the images being created at school, on a school device, or within a school related activity or program."
The district told Indy and other parents there is not much the school can do.
"They said, you know, we don't have any evidence. We don't know who's involved, what happened. So there's really nothing we can do," Indy said.
That's when Indy took her complaints to local law enforcement. Local 5 reached out to the Nevada Police Department, which confirmed it's investigating this matter.
A law that would criminalize this action specifically doesn't take affect until July 1, something making Indy and her family feel helpless.
"There's gotta be some sort of punishment or justice, because the girls deserve it. They need it, and if they don't get it, they're gonna feel like they don't matter... it's like your worst nightmare, because it's awful now but then down the future. I mean, these are gonna come back they're gonna pop up again, and you know, never goes away," Indy said.