US Appeals Court: Possessing AI-Generated Child Sex Abuse Images Not Illegal

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of a possession charge against a Wisconsin man found with hundreds of AI-generated sexually explicit images of children, ruling that First Amendment precedent does not clearly criminalize such "virtual" material. Judges acknowledged the ruling was reluctant, noting generative AI now produces images "virtually indistinguishable" from real abuse imagery, and urged the Supreme Court to revisit decades-old precedent. The case shows technology outpacing legal and moral frameworks meant to protect human dignity and children.