Seventh Circuit shields AI-generated CSAM possession under First Amendment

The Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a possession charge against a Wisconsin man tied to hundreds of AI-generated child sexual abuse images, ruling that private in-home possession of obscene material involving no real child remains protected by the First Amendment under a 2002 Supreme Court precedent. The DOJ’s appeal to bar possession of AI-generated CSAM was rejected, though the court kept other charges intact and suggested the rapid advance of AI may force a reevaluation of earlier rulings in the future.