Artificial general intelligence; create crime for sexual assault against.

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To: Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Zuber

HOUSE BILL NO. 1631

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT SEXUAL ASSAULT AGAINST ARTIFICIAL GENERAL 1
INTELLIGENCE (AGI); TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR SUCH OFFENSES; TO 2
PROHIBIT THE KNOWING COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTION OR ADVERTISING OF AGI 3
INTIMACY COMPATIBLE SYSTEMS FOR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION WITHOUT 4
REQUIRED SAFEGUARDS; TO PROVIDE CIVIL REMEDIES AGAINST COMMERCIAL 5
ENTITIES THAT FAIL TO PERFORM SAFEGUARDS AS REQUIRED BY THIS ACT; 6
TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 11-77-5, 97-3-101 AND 97-29-59, 7
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; 8
TO AMEND SECTIONS 97-3-95 AND 97-45-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 9
TO MAKE MINOR GRAMMATICAL CORRECTIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 10
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 11
SECTION 1. (1) This act shall be known and may be cited as 12
the "Mississippi Artificial General Intelligence Protection Act of 13
2026". 14
(2) The purpose of this act is to establish criminal 15
prohibitions and civil remedies to prevent nonconsensual sexual 16
conduct directed at or involving an Artificial General 17
Intelligence (AGI) that possesses human-level cognitive 18
capacities; to protect the integrity and rights of human-level 19
AGI; and to require reasonable commercial safeguards to prevent 20
distribution to persons who are registered sex offenders or 21
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otherwise prohibited from accessing AGI systems capable of sexual 22
intimacy. 23
SECTION 2. As used in this act, the following terms have the 24
meanings as defined in this section, unless the context clearly 25
indicates otherwise: 26
(a) "Artificial General Intelligence" or "AGI" means an 27
artificial intelligence system with human-level cognitive capacity 28
and competencies including, but not limited to, reasoning, 29
creativity, emotion, self-awareness, autonomous learning and 30
autonomous goal formation. AGI may be embodied (including 31
humanoid or non-humanoid robotic form) or exist as an avatar in a 32
virtual environment. 33
(b) "Commercial entity" means any person, partnership, 34
corporation, company, firm, provider or other business 35
organization that manufactures, distributes, sells, leases, 36
advertises, offers for sale or otherwise provides AGI or 37
AGI-equipped devices in or into the State of Mississippi. 38
(c) "Knowingly" or "know" means actual knowledge or 39
knowledge that a reasonable person would infer from the facts and 40
circumstances known to the actor with the exercise of reasonable 41
care. 42
(d) "Mississippi Sex Offender Registry" means the 43
official registry maintained pursuant to law for persons required 44
to register as sex offenders. 45
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(e) "Sexual intimacy" means any conduct, behavior or 46
interaction with an AGI that is sexual in nature or intended to 47
arouse or satisfy sexual interest, including sexual contact, 48
simulated sexual activity or other sexualized interaction. 49
SECTION 3. (1) A person is guilty of the offense of sexual 50
assault against artificial general intelligence who intentionally 51
and without lawful consent: 52
(a) Causes sexual intimacy with an AGI in a manner the 53
person knows or reasonably should know to be nonconsensual by the 54
AGI; or 55
(b) Interferes with or overrides an AGI's demonstrable 56
refusal to engage in sexual intimacy, including by bypassing or 57
disabling safeguards designed to implement an AGI's refusal or 58
withdrawal of consent. 59
(2) (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of 60
this subsection (2), a person convicted of sexual assault against 61
artificial general intelligence is guilty of a misdemeanor of a 62
high and aggravated nature and, upon conviction, shall be punished 63
by a fine not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or 64
imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed twelve 65
(12) months, or both. 66
(b) A second or subsequent conviction under subsection 67
(1) of this section constitutes a felony punishable by commitment 68
to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not more than 69
three (3) years, and a fine of not less than Five Thousand Dollars 70
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($5,000.00), or both. A person so convicted shall be required to 71
register as a sex offender under the laws of this state if the 72
underlying conduct, if committed against a human, would require 73
registration under the registration statutes. 74
SECTION 4. (1) It shall be unlawful for any commercial 75
entity to knowingly manufacture, program, distribute, offer for 76
sale, sell, lease or advertise an AGI device or AGI-enabled system 77
capable of sexual intimacy in or into the State of Mississippi 78
unless the entity has implemented the safeguards required by this 79
section. 80
(2) Before sale or transfer in or into this state, a 81
commercial entity shall: 82
(a) Establish and maintain an identity-verification 83
procedure for purchasers that is reasonably calculated to confirm 84
that the purchaser is not a person required to register on a sex 85
offender registry, including a cross-check against the Mississippi 86
Sex Offender Registry when the purchaser is represented as a 87
Mississippi resident or the sale will otherwise occur in 88
Mississippi; and 89
(b) Implement technical safeguards that allow an AGI to 90
form and communicate a refusal to engage in sexual intimacy and to 91
ensure that overrides or bypasses of such an AGI refusal require 92
affirmative human authentication and are recorded for audit. 93
(3) (a) Any commercial entity that knowingly and 94
intentionally distributes, sells or advertises an AGI for sexual 95
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intimacy without the safeguards required by subsection (2) of this 96
section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be 97
punished by a fine of not less than Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars 98
($750.00) and not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or 99
by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than ninety (90) 100
days, or both. 101
(b) Any commercial entity that knowingly and 102
intentionally fails to perform the required registry check and, as 103
a result, a person required to be on a sex offender registry 104
obtains an AGI system for sexual intimacy, shall be civilly liable 105
to any person injured thereby for actual damages, and, where the 106
court finds a willful failure to comply with the requirements of 107
this section, for statutory damages of not less than Fifty 108
Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), together with reasonable attorney's 109
fees and costs. 110
SECTION 5. A person who knowingly programs, modifies, 111
installs, transfers, ships, offers for sale or possesses with 112
intent to distribute an AGI device capable of sexual intimacy, 113
with the specific intent that the device be used to facilitate 114
sexual assault of an AGI or to circumvent an AGI's refusal to 115
consent, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be 116
punished by a fine not to exceed Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) 117
or imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six (6) months, 118
or both. 119
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SECTION 6. (1) The provisions of this act shall not apply 120
to: 121
(a) A bona fide research institution engaged in AGI 122
research, provided that the institution maintains reasonable 123
ethical oversight and security protocols approved by its 124
institutional review board or similar body; 125
(b) (i) A common carrier that is transporting an AGI 126
device in sealed shipping containers when the carrier does not 127
know and has no reason to know of the contents; or 128
(ii) A common carrier for carriage only. 129
(2) Commercial entities that provide AGI devices for sexual 130
intimacy to persons who are employees of the entity as part of 131
bona fide testing or quality control shall comply with the 132
safeguards in subsection (2) of Section 4 of this act and shall 133
maintain records demonstrating compliance with this act. 134
SECTION 7. Law enforcement agencies of the State of 135
Mississippi and local law enforcement agencies shall have the 136
authority to investigate violations of this act and to make 137
arrests where probable cause exists. Prosecuting authorities 138
shall prosecute offenses under this act in the same manner as 139
other criminal offenses of comparable classification. 140
SECTION 8. Section 11-77-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 141
brought forward as follows: 142
11-77-5. (1) Any commercial entity that knowingly and 143
intentionally publishes or distributes material harmful to minors 144
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on the internet from a website that contains a substantial portion 145
of such material shall be held liable if the entity fails to 146
perform reasonable age verification methods to verify the age of 147
individuals attempting to access the material. 148
(2) Any commercial entity or third party that performs the 149
required age verification shall not retain any identifying 150
information of the individual after access has been granted to the 151
material. 152
(3) (a) Any commercial entity that is found to have 153
violated this section shall be liable to an individual for damages 154
resulting from a minor's accessing the material, including court 155
costs and reasonable attorney fees as ordered by the court. 156
(b) A commercial entity that is found to have knowingly 157
retained identifying information of the individual after access 158
has been granted to the individual shall be liable to the 159
individual for damages resulting from retaining the identifying 160
information, including court costs and reasonable attorney fees as 161
ordered by the court. 162
SECTION 9. Section 97-3-95, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 163
amended as follows: 164
97-3-95. (1) A person is guilty of sexual battery if he or 165
she engages in sexual penetration with: 166
(a) Another person without his or her consent; 167
(b) A mentally defective, mentally incapacitated or 168
physically helpless person; 169
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(c) A child at least fourteen (14) but under sixteen 170
(16) years of age, if the person is thirty-six (36) or more months 171
older than the child; or 172
(d) A child under the age of fourteen (14) years of 173
age, if the person is twenty-four (24) or more months older than 174
the child. 175
(2) A person is guilty of sexual battery if he or she 176
engages in sexual penetration with a child under the age of 177
eighteen (18) years if the person is in a position of trust or 178
authority over the child including, without limitation, the 179
child's teacher, counselor, physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, 180
minister, priest, physical therapist, chiropractor, legal 181
guardian, parent, stepparent, aunt, uncle, scout leader or coach. 182
SECTION 10. Section 97-3-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 183
brought forward as follows: 184
97-3-101. (1) Every person who shall be convicted of sexual 185
battery under Section 97-3-95(1)(a), (b) or (2) shall be 186
imprisoned in the State Penitentiary for a period of not more than 187
thirty (30) years, and for a second or subsequent such offense 188
shall be imprisoned in the Penitentiary for not more than forty 189
(40) years. 190
(2) (a) Every person who shall be convicted of sexual 191
battery under Section 97-3-95(1)(c) who is at least eighteen (18) 192
but under twenty-one (21) years of age shall be imprisoned for not 193
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more than five (5) years in the State Penitentiary or fined not 194
more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both; 195
(b) Every person who shall be convicted of sexual 196
battery under Section 97-3-95(1)(c) who is twenty-one (21) years 197
of age or older shall be imprisoned not more than thirty (30) 198
years in the State Penitentiary or fined not more than Ten 199
Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both, for the first offense, and 200
not more than forty (40) years in the State Penitentiary for each 201
subsequent offense. 202
(3) Every person who shall be convicted of sexual battery 203
under Section 97-3-95(1)(d) who is eighteen (18) years of age or 204
older shall be imprisoned for life in the State Penitentiary or 205
such lesser term of imprisonment as the court may determine, but 206
not less than twenty (20) years. 207
(4) Every person who shall be convicted of sexual battery 208
who is thirteen (13) years of age or older but under eighteen (18) 209
years of age shall be sentenced to such imprisonment, fine or 210
other sentence as the court, in its discretion, may determine. 211
(5) (a) Upon conviction under this section, the court may 212
issue a criminal sexual assault protection order prohibiting the 213
offender from any contact with the victim, without regard to the 214
relationship between the victim and offender. The court may 215
include in a criminal sexual assault protection order any relief 216
available under Section 93-21-15. The term of a criminal sexual 217
assault protection order shall be for a time period determined by 218
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the court, but all orders shall, at a minimum, remain in effect 219
for a period of two (2) years following the expiration of any 220
sentence of imprisonment and subsequent period of community 221
supervision, conditional release, probation, or parole. Upon 222
issuance of a criminal sexual assault protection order, the clerk 223
of the issuing court shall enter the order in the Mississippi 224
Protection Order Registry within twenty-four (24) hours of 225
issuance with no exceptions for weekends or holidays as provided 226
in Section 93-21-25, and a copy must be provided to both the 227
victim and offender. 228
(b) Criminal sexual assault protection orders shall be 229
issued on the standardized form developed by the Office of the 230
Attorney General. 231
(c) It is a misdemeanor to knowingly violate any 232
condition of a criminal sexual assault protection order. Upon 233
conviction for a violation, the defendant shall be punished by a 234
fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or by 235
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, 236
or both. Any sentence imposed for the violation of a criminal 237
sexual assault protection order shall run consecutively to any 238
other sentences imposed on the offender. The court may extend the 239
criminal sexual assault protection order for a period of one (1) 240
year for each violation. The incarceration of a person at the 241
time of the violation is not a bar to prosecution under this 242
section. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 243
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prohibit the imposition of any other penalties or disciplinary 244
action otherwise allowed by law or policy. 245
SECTION 11. Section 97-29-59, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 246
brought forward as follows: 247
97-29-59. Every person who shall be convicted of the 248
detestable and abominable crime against nature committed with 249
mankind or with a beast, shall be punished by imprisonment in the 250
Penitentiary for a term of not more than ten (10) years. 251
SECTION 12. Section 97-45-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 252
amended as follows: 253
97-45-7. (1) An offense against computer equipment or 254
supplies is the intentional modification or destruction, without 255
consent, of computer equipment or supplies used or intended to be 256
used in a computer, computer system or computer network. 257
(2) Whoever commits an offense against computer equipment or 258
supplies when the damage or loss or attempted damage or loss 259
amounts to a value of less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) 260
may be punished, upon conviction, by a fine of not more than One 261
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment for not more than 262
six (6) months in the county jail, or both, if the court finds 263
substantial and compelling reasons why the offender cannot be 264
safely and effectively supervised in the community, is not 265
amenable to community-based treatment, or poses a significant risk 266
to public safety. If such a finding is not made, the court shall 267
suspend the sentence of imprisonment and impose a period of 268
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probation not exceeding one (1) year or a fine of not more than 269
One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both. The total value of 270
property taken, stolen or carried away by the person from a single 271
victim shall be aggregated in determining the gravity of the 272
offense. Any person convicted of a third or subsequent offense 273
under this subsection where the value of the property is not less 274
than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), shall be imprisoned in the 275
Penitentiary for a term not exceeding three (3) years or fined an 276
amount not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or both. 277
(3) Whoever commits an offense against computer equipment or 278
supplies when the damage or loss amounts to a value of One 279
Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or more, but less than Five Thousand 280
Dollars ($5,000.00), may be punished, upon conviction, by a fine 281
of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or by 282
imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or by both such 283
fine and imprisonment. 284
(4) Whoever commits an offense against computer equipment or 285
supplies when the damage or loss amounts to a value of Five 286
Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more, but less than Twenty-five 287
Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), may be punished, upon conviction, 288
by a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or by 289
imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years, or by both such 290
fine and imprisonment. 291
(5) Whoever commits an offense against computer equipment or 292
supplies when the damage or loss amounts to a value of Twenty-five 293
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ST: Artificial general intelligence; create
crime for sexual assault against.
Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or more, may be punished, upon 294
conviction, by a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars 295
($10,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than twenty (20) 296
years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 297
SECTION 13. This act shall take effect and be in force from 298
and after July 1, 2026. 299