The Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA) supports state’s rights to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) to combat the rise of digital sexual violence, despite the Trump Administation’s orders blocking them to do so.
The Executive Order
On December 11th 2025, President Trump signed an executive order to infringe on states’ AI laws. The order creates a task force to sue states over their AI-related laws. It also directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to work with the Department of Justice DOJ to enact the White House’s AI action plan that circumvents “onerous” state and local regulations.
The executive order notes that there are state laws that won’t be challenged, including those related to child safety, AI compute and data center infrastructure, and other “generally applicable” laws. However, the order does not give more details on those standards or how they should be followed, and there is very little agreement among experts on the legal definition of “generally applicable” as it relates to AI laws.
The legality of the order is likely to be challenged, creating uncertainty in the courts. “That is the point of all of this – it is to create massive legal uncertainty and gray areas and give the companies the chance to do whatever they want,” said Adam Billen, vice president of Encode, a nonprofit focused on child safety and threats posed by AI.
This is Trump’s most recent attempt to preempt state’s AI regulation, following Congress’ rejection of the AI Moratorium in the Big Beautiful Bill, which would have banned all state regulation for the next 10 years.
“This order is unconstitutional. It is an attack on states’ rights. It is an attack on states’ ability to regulate and prevent digital sexual violence,” said Omny Miranda Martone, Founder and CEO of the SVPA. “The Trump Administration is putting out an executive order because their previous attempts to use Congress to deregulate AI have failed. There is bipartisan agreement that states have the right to protect their citizens from AI-generated harms.”
Digital Sexual Violence Increasing
This executive order will result in more digital sexual violence. It will strip protections for survivors, particularly women, children, and other vulnerable populations. It will remove current prevention measures and strip support for victims of AI-generated sexual violence.
AI-generated sexual violence is rapidly growing. AI-generated non-consensual explicit materials (NCEMs) – also known as deepfake pornography or non-consensual intimate images (NCII), image based sexual abuse (IBSA), or tech-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse (TFSEA) – is the fastest increasing form of sexual violence, more than doubling every six months.
The SVPA advocated for the Take It Down Act which passed in May and will provide some protections for survivors of NCEMs. This federal law was a major step forward in safeguarding individuals against the escalating threats posed by digital sexual violence. That said, there are still more protections needed. There are no civil protections at the federal level. Many states have civil protections. Now that these laws are under attack, the SVPA is amplifying our call for Congress to pass the DEFIANCE Act, which would provide civil protection to victims of AI-generated NCEMs nationwide.
Another form of digital sexual violence is AI chatbot harassment. Currently, AI chatbots are sexually harassing children, directly engaging in pedophilia, pushing violent rape fantasies, and normalizing rape culture. The SVPA recently wrote an article and submitted a written testimony to Congress about the dangers of AI chatbots to children.
We have advocated for several state bills to address and prevent AI-generated sexual violence, all of which are in danger of being unenforceable. The SVPA’s state policy map shows which states currently have legislation that covers sexual violence prevention.
Importance of State Laws
State laws are important for American democracy. States create laws faster than the federal government. States more directly address their citizen’s needs and are better equipt to handle local issues related to AI-generated sexual violence. Further, State laws are incubators for federal laws. Most federal laws, including the Take It Down Act and the DEFIANCE Act, are created using the language, insight, and case law of state legislation.
“This executive order is yet another example of the Trump Administration using his power for personal gain and putting big tech ahead of the public. Millions of people have fought for state laws to combat the growing dangers of AI sexual violence,” says Omny Miranda Martone, Founder and CEO of SVPA. “This order is not about protection or innovation. It is about money. Trump and big tech know this executive order will cause more digital sexual violence. They know it will cause more AI-pedophilia. But they care more about their profits.”
The SVPA supports states’ rights to regulate AI. We encourage all attorney generals to sue the federal government to stop this executive order. We will stand strong with AG’s and governors across the country as they push back against this unconstitutional attack. States have the right to protect their citizens from digital sexual violence.
