Jim Sensenbrenner: “Mr. Speaker, on April 16, 2002, the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Ashcroft v. the Free Speech…”

“Mr. Speaker, on April 16, 2002, the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Ashcroft v. the Free Speech Coalition held that the current definition of child pornography as enacted by the Child Pornography Protection Act of 1996 is overbroad and, thus, unconstitutional. In response to that decision, Ernest Allen, the president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, testified that he believes that the Court's decision will result in the proliferation of child pornography in America unlike anything we have seen in more than 20 years. He concluded that, as a result of the Court's decision, thousands of children will be sexually victimized, most of whom will not report the offense. Technology will exist, or may exist today, to create depictions of virtual children that are indistinguishable from depictions of real children. Just the mere possibility that such technology exists will make it impossible for law enforcement and prosecutors to enforce the child pornography laws in cases where computers are involved.”