SB 2847
CRIM CD-ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENC
TL;DR
Illinois SB 2847, introduced by Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, would amend the state criminal code to address artificial intelligence, likely targeting harmful AI uses such as deepfakes or AI-assisted crimes. The bill is currently stalled in committee after being re-referred to Assignments, meaning it has not advanced to active consideration.
How This Might Impact Your Business
Illinois businesses deploying generative AI tools (image, video, voice synthesis) could face new criminal liability exposure if employees or products are used to create harmful synthetic content
Software vendors selling AI tools in Illinois may need to add usage restrictions, watermarking, or content provenance features to limit downstream criminal misuse
Marketing and media companies producing AI-generated content featuring real people would likely need stricter consent documentation workflows
Financial services and fintech firms should anticipate heightened scrutiny on AI-enabled fraud prevention, since AI-assisted scams are a common target of these bills
Bill is stuck in committee (re-referred to Assignments under Rule 3-9(a)), meaning no immediate compliance deadlines, but companies should track for the 2025 session
Without bill text published, specific penalties, thresholds, and exemptions remain unknown, creating planning uncertainty for Illinois operations
Small businesses are not explicitly exempted in criminal code amendments, so size-based carve-outs are unlikely
What Should You Do
Assign someone on your legal or compliance team to pull the full bill text from the Illinois General Assembly website and flag specific prohibited conduct
Inventory any AI tools your company uses or sells in Illinois that generate synthetic media, voice clones, or automated communications, and document current safeguards
Add SB 2847 to your legislative tracking list and set alerts for movement out of Assignments committee before the next Illinois session
Review your AI acceptable-use policies and customer terms of service to confirm they prohibit illegal uses that could trigger Illinois criminal exposure
Brief your Illinois-based executives on potential personal liability if the bill creates individual criminal penalties for AI misuse
Who It Affects
Sponsors
Status Timeline
committee
Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments
March 15, 2024