WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mike Lee (R-UT), and John Kennedy (R-LA) today introduced the 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:

“No one who abuses children in any way, shape, or form should be let off the hook due to outdated laws,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This legislation would update current law to hold those who use AI to create and distribute CSAM and obscenity accountable, ensuring our justice system keeps up with the growing threats of a rapidly advancing online world.”

“The ENFORCE Act bolsters protections for our nation’s children against online sexual exploitation and strengthens enforcement measures against such vile crimes. AI-generated child sexual abuse material haunts young people across our country. This legislation is critically needed to combat the scourge of online child sexual abuse and to provide children and families with tools to safeguard themselves from these harms,” said Sen. Blumenthal.

“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 needs to close every loophole possible to help law enforcement fight this evil. I’m proud to help introduce the ENFORCE Act, which would allow officials to better target the sick 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 Raven, Thorn, The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the National Children’s Alliance, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), Rights 4 Girls, and the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA).