The ENFORCE Act: Critical Updates to Federal Law for Addressing AI-Generated CSAM Offenses

The Rise of AI-Generated CSAM

The rapid rise of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) represents one of the most urgent and fast-evolving threats facing children today. In the past year alone, there has been a sharp increase in offender use of generative AI to create realistic abuse content. In the first half of 2025, reports to NCMEC of AI-generated CSAM ballooned to 440,419 from 6,835 in 2024. Thorn’s research shows 1 in 8 teens report they personally know someone targeted with an AI-generated deepfake image. 

Our research shows that AI-generated CSAM is already impacting real kids and straining the systems designed to protect them. The ENFORCE Act brings federal law in line with the reality we are seeing every day – that abuse created with AI is still abuse, and it must be treated as such. We need clear, consistent tools to hold offenders accountable, and this bill provides that. 

        — Melissa Stroebel, Vice President of Research and Strategic Impact at Thorn

While federal law already makes AI-generated CSAM illegal, the existing statutes and collateral consequences allow for inconsistent accountability, and prosecutors don’t always have the full set of tools they need to pursue justice. 

Key takeaway: The ENFORCE Act of 2025 aims to close existing statutory gaps by modernizing federal law and ensuring serious, consistent penalties for CSAM offenses involving AI.

What is the current state of federal law on AI-Generated CSAM?

AI-generated CSAM is illegal at the federal level. Offenders are prosecuted for crimes involving the production, possession, or distribution of AI-generated CSAM. However, gaps remain in exactly how offenders are penalized. If an image depicts a real child, modified with AI or not, it is prosecuted under federal CSAM laws. If an image is wholly generated using AI, without depicting a real child, it is prosecuted under federal Obscenity laws. Depending on which statute an offender is charged under, the resulting penalties can differ significantly, creating inconsistencies across sentencing guidelines, supervision requirements, and other critical accountability measures.

The Enhancing Necessary Federal Offenses Regarding Child Exploitation (ENFORCE) Act of 2025 would close these gaps. By modernizing federal statutes and strengthening sentencing requirements, the bill ensures that offenders who commit crimes involving AI-generated CSAM face serious, consistent consequences, regardless of how their cases are charged.

Key provisions of the ENFORCE Act

Update statutory language about production of AI-Modified CSAM:

The ENFORCE Act would update federal statutes to clarify that offenders can be prosecuted for producing AI-modified CSAM whether or not they intended to distribute the material. We know that not all offenders create AI-modified CSAM for others, and this update aligns AI-modified CSAM production penalties with those for authentic CSAM, recognizing the parallel risks and harms.

Consistent sentencing for all Gen AI CSAM offenders

The ENFORCE Act would update federal Obscenity laws to ensure that all CSAM offenders who use AI to create or modify abuse material face the same penalties, regardless of which statute they are charged under. This includes presumption of pre-trial detention, mandatory sex offender registry, mandatory supervised release after detention, and no statute of limitations. These updates will ensure that all offenders face serious and consistent consequences.

Protect AI-Generated CSAM in legal proceedings

The ENFORCE Act would ensure that AI-generated CSAM is protected just like authentic CSAM is in legal proceedings – which is critical for protecting victims’ privacy and security. 

The ENFORCE Act ensures that offenders who produce obscene content involving minors, whether through deepfakes or generative AI, are finally held accountable in the same way as those prosecuted under existing child sexual abuse material laws. Our laws must reflect the reality that digital abuse causes real harm. This bill gives prosecutors the tools they need, to include mandatory sex offender registration, to respond effectively and pursue these crimes with the seriousness they demand.

        — Jennifer Dunton, Director of Legislative Affairs at RAVEN

What’s next for the ENFORCE Act?

The ENFORCE Act was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on August 1, 2025, and in the U.S. Senate on October 23, 2025. We are grateful to the sponsors of this legislation – Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. John Kennedy, Rep. Ann Wagner, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, and Rep. Steve Cohen – for their important work to address the growing threat of AI-generated CSAM. 

As AI accelerates the production and spread of child sexual abuse material, our legal system must keep pace. The rise of AI-generated CSAM is harming children today; it is not a distant threat. The ENFORCE Act represents a critical step toward meeting that challenge. Thorn is proud to support this legislation alongside RAVEN, the National Children’s Alliance, the Child Rescue Coalition, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Rights 4 Girls, and the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA). Now, we must move with urgency to ensure these protections become law.