The Case That Defies Expectations
A man used AI to make thousands of fake images of child abuse. That was the plan. A grand jury charged him with a serious crime in 2024. But the charges for possession were just thrown out. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit made the call on August 25. They ruled unanimously to uphold a lower court decision. The man, Steven Anderegg, was 44 years old when the case started. The Daily Citizen reported the details of this surprising legal outcome. The court found he had no choice but to follow old rules.
Why The Old Rules Still Apply
Judge John Z. Lee explained the hard truth of the situation. He said the Supreme Court set the lines decades ago. We are not free to redraw them ourselves, he wrote. The case relies on a ruling called Ashcroft vs. Free Speech Coalition. That decision struck down a federal law from 1996. The old law banned any image that looked like child pornography. The new ruling says virtual images are different from real ones. The Supreme Court decided these fake images “creates no victims by its production”. They are not “‘intrinsically related’ to the sexual abuse of children.” This means the First Amendment protects them unless they are truly obscene.
The court set a high bar for what counts as obscene. The content must be “Without serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”Appealing to the prurient interest in the view of an average person according to community standards” must be present. “Describing sexual conduct or excretory functions in an offensive way is also part of it. Judge Lee noted the technology has changed since 1982. He said the image-generation tools today were likely unimaginable back then. Yet the law remains the same. The court dismissed the possession charge against Anderegg despite the evidence.
The Gap Between Law and Reality
The ruling highlights a massive gap in how we protect kids. Real abuse creates real victims who suffer for years. Virtual abuse creates no direct victims, according to the justices. This legal distinction leaves families with fewer tools to fight back. The Department of Justice found the thousands of realistic images in 2024. They charged him with producing, possessing, and distributing the material. Two federal courts have now agreed to dismiss the possession charge. The first was the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin in 2025. The second was the Seventh Circuit panel this past August. Judge Lee asked the Supreme Court to give updated guidance on this issue. He expressed concern about the lines these cases draw. The relentless advancement in artificial intelligence models makes the old rules hard to apply. But the lower courts cannot change the law on their own. They must follow the precedent set nearly twenty-five years ago. The facts are clear, but the outcome is frustrating for many. The law says these images are protected speech unless they meet strict tests. Most people would agree these images are harmful and wrong. But the legal definition of harm is different from the moral one.
Steven Anderegg walked away from the possession charge with his freedom. The case shows how old laws struggle with new technology. The court did not say the images were good or safe. They simply said the First Amendment covers them under current rules. The Daily Citizen reported that the panel was unanimous in this decision. No judge dissented from the view that the law must be followed. The system works as written, even when the result feels wrong. We must trust the courts to follow the law as it stands. The Supreme Court will have to decide if the rules need to change. Until then, the old precedent holds firm over new technology. The Supreme Court ruling from decades ago still controls the outcome today.
