PHOENIX—Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a liberal Democrat, announced on Friday that she vetoed a bill that passed through the Republican-controlled state legislature that is referred to as the "Protect Act." The measure included new consent measures similar to what has been adopted in states like Alabama and contradict federal record-keeping statutes.
The bill, HB 2133, is ultimately dead unless the state legislature can gather the required votes to override Hobbs's veto.
The bill would have required a set of new state-mandated requirements in adult content uploaded to the internet from IP addresses based in Arizona's digital space.
HB 2133 also featured provisions to prevent non-consensual intimate images (NCII) that are generated by artificial intelligence.
"My office attempted to work with the [bill] sponsor on ways to further protect victims without shielding politicians from criticism as HB 2133 does," writes Hobbs in a letter announcing her veto to legislative leaders.
She is referring to concerns expressed by the primary sponsor of the bill, Republican state Rep. Nick Kupper, who referred to the use of artificial intelligence to parody any elected officials and politicians. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the critically-acclaimed animated sitcom South Park, used AI to generate a parody of President Donald Trump. Gov. Hobbs notes Kupper mentioning this during the legislative process of the bill, raising his concern of non-consensual parody.
Rep. Kupper referred to South Park because the show parodied President Donald Trump nude, with one creator even using his own finger as a simulation of his penis. The joke was to present Trump as having a small penis that talked and featured other anthropomorphic features.
Gov. Hobbs additionally justified the veto by mentioning the federal Take It Down Act that takes into consideration NCII nationally and has a regulatory regime in place that is very active.
