Robin Carnahan: “Child pornography is an affront to the inherent decency of our society. Creating and distributing this revolting…”

“Child pornography is an affront to the inherent decency of our society. Creating and distributing this revolting material causes severe damage to the children involved. Those who purchase this material also harm children by creating a demand for production of more child pornography, leading to a greater number of victimized children. Congress has enacted strong criminal laws outlawing the production, distribution, and possession of child pornography. But the advent of the internet and advances in imaging technology have made enforcing these laws more difficult. The problem is twofold. First, child pornography can now be created using digital technology such that the subjects of the images are virtual, not real, children. Second, child pornographers facing criminal prosecution now claim that the materials at issue contain computer-generated, virtual image, and claim that such images are constitutionally protected free speech. The technology is now so advanced that it is difficult for expert witnesses to determine whether the pornographers' claims are true, giving real pornographers the ability to escape prosecution. Congress attempted to address this problem in 1996 by expanding the scope of federal child pornography statutes to cover sexually explicit images that appear to depict children, but were created without using actual children. Unfortunately, last month the Supreme Court determined that parts of the statute were unconstitutional.”