Children in Shawnee, Oklahoma had ordinary photos of themselves turned into sexual abuse images with an AI app. Oklahoma leaders must close the gaps that make this possible: require AI apps to block this material, toughen penalties for anyone who creates it, and give investigators the resources to stop it.

According to News On 6, a 64-year-old Shawnee man now faces five felony charges. Police say his two phones held more than 200 child sexual abuse images and videos, and about 100 of them appeared to have been made with an AI app. Court records show investigators identified some of the children through selfies they had shared on social media. Investigators believe one image started as a photo of a neighbor, snapped from the man's front porch.

These images are not harmless fakes. Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) Agent Blaine Phillips explained that AI tools build these images from real pictures of real kids, "and so these children are being victimized," according to News On 6. He also said his agency arrests people for this crime every week.

Oklahoma made AI-generated child sexual abuse material illegal two years ago. That was an important first step. But punishing offenders after the fact does nothing to stop the apps themselves from producing this material in the first place.

Governor Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma Legislature can act now. They can require AI apps offered in Oklahoma to block the creation of sexual images of minors, raise penalties for anyone who makes or shares this material, and expand funding for the OSBI Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force so investigators can keep up.

Sign the petition to demand Oklahoma leaders protect children from AI-generated abuse before another child's photo is turned into a weapon.