West VirginiaAI regulation

Regulation Status

• West Virginia has not enacted a comprehensive AI statute; its AI-specific action to date extends existing criminal law to synthetic sexual content. Senate Bill 198, amending the code chapter on Crimes Against Chastity, Morality and Decency and effective 9 July 2025, is the state's principal AI-related enactment, reaching both computer-generated child sexual abuse material and AI-fabricated intimate images.
• SB 198 expands the prohibition on child pornography to include computer-generated child pornography, and extends the prohibition on the distribution of intimate images to include fabricated intimate images created using AI or other computer technology. In both cases criminal and civil penalties may apply.
• As of 2026 West Virginia's posture is narrow and criminal-law-focused; the state has not adopted an omnibus developer or deployer AI governance framework comparable to those in Colorado, California, or Texas.