SACRAMENTO — Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) has introduced legislation that would require California colleges and universities to adopt policies addressing deep-fake sexual harassment.
“Image generation tools like Grok are exposing our female students to new forms of sexual harassment and our laws aren’t keeping pace,” said Bauer-Kahan, whose district include Livermore and much of Pleasanton and Dublin. “When an intimate image of a student is fabricated and weaponized against them, that student deserves to know their school will take it seriously.”
Although California colleges are required to address sex-based harassment and discrimination, a recent study by Survivors + Allies, a UCLA student organization, found that 70% of online harassment victims did not seek support from their home institutions.
AB 2212, known as the HEAR Survivors Act, would requires colleges to adopt policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment, including deep-fake images and videos created with artificial intelligence (AI).
“We know that technology-facilitated sexual violence can have profound and long-lasting impacts on a student’s mental health, academic success and emotional well-being,” said Survivors + Allies. “Our goal is to make sure universities are doing their part in explicitly prohibiting this form of sexual violence, updating campus training to reflect this growing issue, and providing more pathways to support for students.
