Legal Definitions - virtual child pornography

Virtual child pornography refers to sexually explicit images or videos that depict individuals appearing to be minors, but which are entirely computer-generated, animated, or digitally manipulated. Unlike traditional child pornography, these materials do not involve the exploitation of actual children during their creation. However, the law treats virtual child pornography with the same seriousness as material involving real children due to its harmful impact, including its potential to desensitize individuals and contribute to the demand for child sexual abuse material.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Computer-Generated Animation

  A graphic designer uses sophisticated 3D modeling and animation software to create a highly realistic animated character that possesses the physical appearance of a seven-year-old child. The designer then produces a series of animated videos depicting this character in sexually explicit scenarios. This material would be considered virtual child pornography because the images are entirely computer-generated, depicting a character that *appears* to be a minor in a sexually explicit context, even though no real child was involved in its creation.

• Example 2: AI-Generated Images

  An individual uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) image generation software, providing detailed prompts that result in photorealistic images of what appear to be young children engaged in sexually explicit acts. The AI creates these images from scratch based on its training data, without using any actual photographs of real children. This fits the definition of virtual child pornography as the images are digitally created by AI, simulating the appearance of minors in sexually explicit content, without involving actual children.

• Example 3: Digital Manipulation of Adult Images

  A person takes existing photographs of adult models and uses advanced photo editing software to digitally alter their facial features, body proportions, and other characteristics to make them appear as young children within sexually explicit scenes. The original subjects are adults, but the final manipulated images present them as minors in a sexually explicit context. This demonstrates virtual child pornography because existing images are digitally manipulated to create the *appearance* of minors in sexually explicit material, even though the original subjects were adults.