House Bill 591 Summary

• Establishes two new offenses of sexual extortion: threatening to disclose private images to compel victims to act against their will, punishable as Class F felony for adults and Class 1 misdemeanor for minors on first offense

• Creates new offense of obscene visual representation of sexual exploitation of a minor (G.S. 14-190.17C) as Class E felony for production/distribution or Class H felony for knowing possession

• Expands definitions of material in sexual exploitation statutes to include images created, adapted, or modified by technological means including artificial intelligence and deepfakes depicting identifiable minors

• Adds new offense of child sex doll creation and distribution, classified as Class D felony when created for sale or pecuniary gain

• Updates sex offender registration requirements to include new offenses and requires electronic monitoring devices to provide exclusion zones around all elementary and secondary schools in North Carolina

• Clarifies disclosure of private images offense to cover AI-generated and deepfake images, with civil liability allowing minimum $1,000 per day in damages or $10,000 minimum per violation

• Effective December 1, 2024 for all offenses committed on or after that date