Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)
A visual depiction of the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, perpetuating exploitation and endangering minors.
How the laws define this
Visual depictions showing a child engaging or appearing to engage in sexually explicit conduct or sexual abuse form the core agreement among these legal definitions. Every cited provision targets these visual portrayals, but instruments diverge on whether artificial intelligence and computer-generated imagery fall directly under this scope. California AB 1831, HB 119, HB 3642 under the Oklahoma Law on Obscenity and Child Pornography, and An Act concerning crimes and punishments explicitly include AI-generated, digitally altered, computer-generated, or simulated images, covering material created without an actual child involved. Conversely, the Child Sexual Abuse Material Amendments establishes a key distinction, making material depicting real minors distinct from artificially generated material for certain offenses. Determining compliance obligations depends on whether synthetic depictions are folded directly into the definition.
Synthesised from the 5 statutory definitions below. Each one is quoted in full, with its source.
Definitions (5)
A visual depiction of the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Its creation, distribution, and possession perpetuates the sexual exploitation of children and places children in danger of exploitation.
Any material that visually depicts sexually explicit or obscene conduct involving a child under the age of 18, as defined in existing statutes, now distinct from artificially generated material for certain offenses.
Any visual depiction, regardless of its origin (real, AI-generated, or altered), that depicts a child engaging or appearing to engage in sexually explicit conduct.
This term refers to any visual depiction, whether real or simulated, that portrays the sexual abuse or exploitation of a child. HB 119 expands this definition to explicitly include digitally altered and AI-generated images of minors, even without a "real" child being involved in the creation.
Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) refers to any visual depiction that appears to be a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. This definition, as expanded by HB 3642, explicitly includes computer-generated images or images altered to appear as a child, regardless of whether an actual child was involved in its creation.
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