7th Circuit affirms First Amendment bars criminal count for possessing fake AI-generated CSAM in Anderegg case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a criminal charge against an individual for possessing AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that did not involve real children, ruling that the First Amendment bars prosecution under Supreme Court precedents in Stanley v. Georgia and Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition. The case is likely to reach the Supreme Court.

The Seventh Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of one criminal charge for possession of child sexual abuse material CSAM that was AI-generated, meaning it did not involve real children. The court of appeals held, that under the Supreme Court’s decision in Stanley v. Georgia and Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition , the government’s reasons to justify criminalizing such virtual or fake CSAM were the same reasons the Supreme Court rejected in Free Speech Coalition. The case is likely to reach the Supreme Court. Excerpt: DOWNLOAD: