WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mike Lee (R-UT), and John Kennedy (R-LA) released the following statements after their Enhancing Necessary Federal Offenses Regarding Child Exploitation (ENFORCE) Act, which would hold those who use generative AI to create or distribute Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and obscenity accountable by ensuring they are subject to the same statutory penalties as those who create or distribute other forms of child pornography, passed the Senate unanimously:

“Outdated laws are no excuse for letting vile child abusers off the hook,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation would update current law to hold those who use AI to create and distribute CSAM accountable, and I’m glad to see it pass the Senate unanimously.”

“This bill is deeply important to protecting our children from child sexual abuse material, which is rampant on the internet. As technology advances, we know that the methods of abuse also change,” said Sen. Blumenthal. “I’m glad this important bill has moved through the Senate today. I hope our colleagues in the House of Representatives will stand with us and adopt the ENFORCE Act so we can take effective law enforcement action against these hideous abusers of children. There is no excuse for delay or inaction. The lives of our children are at stake.”

“Online predators victimize children through AI-generated imagery,” said Sen. Lee. “Such filth is not protected speech, and I am proud to cosponsor the ENFORCE Act to empower federal prosecutors to defend our kids against AI exploitation and hold predators fully accountable. This bipartisan effort strengthens the TAKE IT DOWN Act signed by President Trump to protect America’s children from explicit deepfakes.”

“Child predators are resorting to more advanced technology than ever to escape justice, so Congress must work to close every legal loophole that these criminals exploit. I’m proud that the U.S. Senate is doing just that by passing the ENFORCE Act, which would help law enforcement fight the animals creating deepfake content of America’s kids,” said Sen. Kennedy.

Background:

In recent years, child safety researchers have noted a rise in the use of visual generative machine learning models to create highly realistic CSAM and obscenity. And while there is legislation to protect victims from this growing online threat, more must be done to hold offenders accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The ENFORCE Act would ensure offenders who use generative AI to produce and distribute CSAM and obscenity are subject to the same statutory penalties as those who create or distribute other forms of child pornography by making the following changes to the U.S. criminal code:

• Clarifying and updating the definition of “modified” CSAM;
• And equating the collateral consequences of the child obscenity statute with the CSAM statute.

This legislation is endorsed by The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), Raven, Thorn, the National Children’s Alliance, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), Rights 4 Girls, and the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA).