I am calling on Congress to take urgent action to address the legal gaps surrounding realistic AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

In August 2026, the Seventh Circuit's decision in United States v. Anderegg held that an existing federal prohibition could not constitutionally be applied to the private, in-home possession of obscene, entirely virtual CSAM where no actual child was depicted.

The court was applying existing Supreme Court precedent—precedent developed long before today's generative artificial intelligence existed.

Technology has changed. Our laws must keep pace.

AI can now create photorealistic depictions of children being sexually abused that may be extremely difficult to distinguish from material involving real victims. This raises serious concerns about grooming and exploitation, law enforcement's ability to identify and rescue actual victims, and whether AI systems capable of producing this material may have been trained using CSAM involving real children.

We call on Congress to:

• Hold hearings examining the harms and risks associated with realistic AI-generated CSAM.

• Develop an updated evidentiary record reflecting today's AI technology.

• Examine its creation, possession, distribution, and use in grooming or facilitating the exploitation of children.

• Investigate the impact synthetic CSAM has on law enforcement's ability to identify real victims.

• Enact constitutionally sound federal legislation that closes the gaps in existing law and provides the strongest protections legally possible against realistic AI-generated CSAM.

This should not be a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. Protecting children from sexual exploitation is a human issue.

Our laws should not remain frozen in the technological world of 2002 while artificial intelligence races forward.

Please sign and share this petition. Together, we are calling on Congress to act now and ensure our laws keep pace with technology when it comes to protecting children.