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PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs announced Friday that she has vetoed legislation known as the “Protect Act,” a measure approved by the Republican-controlled state legislature that would have introduced new consent-related requirements for adult content and included provisions addressing artificial intelligence-generated non-consensual intimate imagery.
The bill, HB 2133, will not become law unless lawmakers secure enough votes to override the governor’s veto.
If enacted, the legislation would have imposed new state-level requirements on certain adult content uploaded to the internet from Arizona-based IP addresses.
HB 2133 also contained provisions aimed at addressing non-consensual intimate images (NCII) created through 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,” Hobbs wrote in a letter to legislative leaders explaining her decision to reject the measure.
The governor’s comments referenced concerns raised by the bill’s primary sponsor, Republican state Rep. Nick Kupper, regarding the use of artificial intelligence to create parodies of elected officials and political figures. During legislative discussions surrounding the bill, Kupper cited examples involving AI-generated political parody, including content depicting public officials in ways they had not consented to, which he argued raised concerns about the growing capabilities of the technology.
Kupper specifically referenced a recent episode of the animated television series South Park that included a parody of President Donald Trump. The episode featured a satirical depiction of Trump in a nude scene, with the program’s creators using exaggerated visual elements as part of the joke.
Hobbs also pointed to the recently enacted Take It Down Act as part of her rationale for the veto. In her explanation, she noted that federal law already addresses non-consensual intimate imagery on a nationwide basis and establishes an existing regulatory framework for handling such cases.
