09/07/2026
🚨EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY🚨
I will no longer be posting identifiable images of children on my photography page, signed release or not.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled that privately possessing AI-generated CSAM depicting “fictional” children can be constitutionally protected when it stays within the home.
That is enough for me to say I will not be a part of the problem. If our government and laws aren’t going to adequately protect children from what AI can do with their images, then I feel a responsibility to do my part to protect them.
🛑 THE TRUTH BEHIND THIS VIRAL PHOTOGRAPHY POST 🛑
You’ve probably seen the viral post from photographers stating they will no longer post images of children due to a "7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling."
While the photographers' choice to protect client privacy is valid, the legal claim in the viral text is highly misunderstood. Here are the facts:
🔹 What actually happened?
On August 25, 2026, a federal court ruled on a case (U.S. v. Anderegg) involving a man who used AI to generate explicit images of completely fictional children. Based on old Supreme Court precedent, the court reluctantly dismissed the charge for private possession inside the home because no real child was harmed to make them.
🔹 Is it legal to make or share this stuff?
NO. The man in the case still faces severe federal criminal charges for the production and distribution of the material. Creating or sharing AI-generated child abuse material remains completely illegal.
🔹 What if someone uses an AI "deepfake" of a real child?
Strictly illegal. The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act makes it a federal crime to create, publish, or threaten to publish non-consensual AI-generated intimate imagery of real people. Under this law, social media platforms are legally required to remove these deepfakes within 48 hours or face massive government penalties.
🔹 Why are photographers still deleting photos of kids?
Because generative AI models "scrape" public images from social media to train themselves. By removing high-quality photos of children from public pages, photographers are smartly cutting off the source material that bad actors could use to target or morph a real child’s face.
The Bottom Line: The law didn't suddenly legalize child exploitation, but the threats from AI scraping are very real. Guarding your children's digital footprints is always a smart move.
🔒 Need to get an image removed? The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children offers a free, completely anonymous tool to block and take down explicit images or deepfakes of minors at takeitdown.ncmec.org.
I always want to give my honest attempt at living on the correct side of history.
The safety of children and my clients will always come before my business.
I hope you can still trust me to take beautiful images of your family. 🩷
Report platforms that fail to remove intimate photos or videos shared without consent under the Take It Down Act.
