WASHINGTON, DC (September 1, 2026) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) said that possessing AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) of virtual children should be illegal and that the Supreme Court should take up a case to settle this matter. Last week, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the First Amendment allows private possession of AI-generated CSAM as long as the images do not depict real children.
“While most Americans would agree that AI-generated child sexual abuse material of a virtual child is heinous and should be illegal, the recent ruling is consistent with case precedent stemming from the 2002 Ashcroft v. FSC ruling which holds that ‘virtual CSAM’ is protected by the First Amendment. Congress amended the law that was struck down in Ashcroft to criminalize possession of virtual CSAM if it depicts an identifiable child, so the 7th Circuit Court ruling is consistent with the current statutory language. That said, we know that AI models are trained with real children, and there have been reports that some models have even been trained with CSAM depicting real children being abused. This presents a very different set of facts and legal considerations that were not contemplated by the 2002 Supreme Court. Americans would certainly welcome the Supreme Court revisiting this critical issue at its earliest opportunity,” said Dani Pinter, Chief Legal Officer and Director of the Law Center, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“AI-generated CSAM can be used as a grooming tool by predators, and NCMEC reports that children and their families have been sextorted through predators using AI-generated CSAM. AI-generated CSAM will no doubt increase the demand for more such material because it is so readily available, opening up the possibility that real children could be victimized either through sextortion or having real CSAM images created of them.
“AI technology is rapidly changing, and given the industry has no meaningful guardrails, it is impossible to trust AI companies to completely safeguard children. We call on AI companies to ensure that AI is not trained on CSAM of real children or the sexual abuse of real adults.”
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
To schedule an interview with NCOSE, please contact press@ncose.com.
