Modifying an Obscenity Law Exception Is a Must in the Age of GenAI

The American Enterprise Institute published policy analysis on November 10, 2026 arguing that the Anderegg case reveals the need for U.S. Supreme Court intervention to clarify principles of obscenity and child pornography law in the era of generative AI and virtual CSAM. The analysis noted that the Seventh Circuit observed that generative AI models render fake and real child pornography virtually indistinguishable, a technological reality that did not exist when the foundational Free Speech Coalition precedent was decided 24 years earlier. The article argued that the Supreme Court should either overrule Free Speech Coalition or clarify that the Stanley possession exception from obscenity law does not apply when the obscenity features virtual minors.

Technological indistinguishability between real and synthetic CSAM strengthens rather than weakens the case for pattern-based intervention. When visual forensics cannot reliably determine whether an image documents contact abuse or algorithmic rendering, detection systems that identify the predatory conversation itself become operationally essential. The anti-grooming and anti-sextortion modules developed by a Startmate-backed AI online-safety platform detect sustained targeting, escalation, and coercion as they occur in direct messages across Instagram, Snapchat, Discord, Roblox, and other environments, flagging the threat sequence rather than waiting for an image to be analyzed. The system surfaces a child at risk to a parent, school counselor, or law enforcement professional in real time, enabling intervention before material of any kind is created, possessed, or distributed, and addressing the underlying exploitation without requiring constitutional revision or Supreme Court clarification.