S. 3021 – ENFORCE Act | Legislate.dev

AI-Generated Summary

Updated December 17, 2025 at 4:33 AM UTC

The ENFORCE Act updates federal law to strengthen how the government prosecutes and handles material that depicts child sexual abuse, including both child pornography and obscene visual representations. It clarifies production offenses, removes time limits for prosecution, requires registration as a sex offender, sets rules for evidence handling, presumes detention before trial, and adds supervised release requirements. These changes affect anyone charged with creating, distributing, or possessing such material and the victims of those crimes.

Key Provisions

Clarifies that knowingly producing child pornography that is mailed, shipped, or otherwise moves through interstate or foreign commerce is a federal offense.
Eliminates the statute of limitations for crimes involving obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse.
Adds obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse to the list of offenses that must be reported for sex‑offender registration under the Adam Walsh Act.
Requires that any visual depiction used as evidence in a criminal case be kept by the government or court, and allows the victim minor limited access to that material under the same rules that apply to child‑pornography victims.
Creates a presumption that a defendant will be detained pending trial for violations of the new Section 1466A offenses.
Mandates supervised release after imprisonment for violations of Section 1466A, treating them like other child‑exploitation offenses.

Legislative Activity

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6 earlier actions

HouseFloor Latest Action

Held at the desk.

December 17, 2025 • 10:22 AM

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

October 21, 2025

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

October 21, 2025

SenateCommittee

Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent.

Judiciary Committee

December 16, 2025

SenateFloor

Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8754-8755; text: CR S8754-8755)

December 16, 2025

SenateFloor

Message on Senate action sent to the House.

December 17, 2025

HouseFloor

Received in the House.

December 17, 2025 • 9:59 AM

HouseFloor

Held at the desk.

December 17, 2025 • 10:22 AM

Floor Debate

2 members

What members said about S. 3021 on the floor

1 Republican1 Democrat

Sen. John CornynR-TX · Dec 16, 2025

Mr. President, I have long been, like many of us, an advocate for protecting the victims of child sexual abuse, and I have long believed that anybody who commits such a heinous crime must be held…

Mr. President, I have long been, like many of us, an advocate for protecting the victims of child sexual abuse, and I have long believed that anybody who commits such a heinous crime must be held accountable.

As technology has evolved over the last several decades, so have the methods being used by those who would exploit our children. Starting in 2023, child safety researchers noticed a rise in the use of visual generative machine learning models to create highly realistic child sexual abuse material, otherwise known as CSAM, as well as other obscene visual depictions of minors.

While there are many good and practical uses for artificial intelligence, this is not one of them. Anyone who uses this kind of technology to harm children deserves to receive the most severe penalties our laws provide for, but our Criminal Code has not kept up with the advanced methods used by some of these offenders.

Under current law, those who use AI to create explicit images of minors do not receive the same penalties as similarly situated offenders who created other forms of child pornography. My legislation called the ENFORCE Act addresses this discrepancy by amending two provisions of the United States Code that deal with child obscenity. Our legislation clarifies the confusing and duplicative definition of modified or computer-generated child sexual abuse material and makes persons who create or distribute Gen-AI CSAM subject to the same penalties as those who create or distribute other forms of child pornography. I shudder to think that our society will be judged based on how we prioritize the protection of our most vulnerable, and it is hard to think of anyone more vulnerable than a child victim of sexual assault.

Our bipartisan legislation ensures that anyone who participates in the sexual exploitation of children is held accountable, and I hope it will advance out of the Chamber today.

Mr. President, in that regard, notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 3021 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Sen. Kirsten E. GillibrandD-NY · Dec 16, 2025

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Bill Text

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Engrossed in SenateIssued December 16, 2025

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 3021

AN ACT

To amend title 18, United States Code, to enhance enforcement with respect to material depicting obscene child sexual abuse or constituting child pornography, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Enhancing Necessary Federal Offenses Regarding Child Exploitation Act or the ENFORCE Act.

2.

Clarifying production with respect to material constituting or containing child pornography

Section 2252A of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the following:

(7)

knowingly produces child pornography, as defined in section 2256(8)(C), that—

(A)

the person knows, or has reason to know, will be mailed, shipped, or transported using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce;

(B)

was produced using materials that have been mailed, shipped, or transported in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce; or

(C)

has been mailed, shipped, or transported using any means or facility of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce,

; and

(2)

in subsection (b)—

(A)

in paragraph (1), by striking or (6) and inserting (6), or (7); and

(B)

by striking paragraph (3).

3.

Enhancing enforcement with respect to obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse

(a)

Removing the statute of limitations for obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse

Section 3299 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 1466A or before 1591.

(b)

Including crimes of obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse in sex offender registration

Section 111(5)(A)(iii) of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (34 U.S.C. 20911(5)(A)(iii)) is amended by inserting 1466A or before 1591.

(c)

Prohibition on reproduction of obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse in discovery

Section 1466A of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and

(2)

by inserting after subsection (e) the following:

(f)

Prohibition on reproduction of obscene visual depictions of child sexual abuse

In any criminal proceeding brought under this section—

(1)

any visual depiction involved in a violation of this section shall remain in the care, custody, and control of either the Government or the court in the same manner specified for child pornography in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 3509(m); and

(2)

any identifiable minor, as that term is defined in section 2256(9), depicted in any visual depiction involved in a violation of this section may have access to such depiction in the same manner specified for a victim, with respect to child pornography depicting the victim, in section 3509(m)(3).

.

(d)

Presumption of detention for violations of section 1466A pending trial

Section 3142 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

in subsection (c)(1)(B), in the undesignated matter following clause (xiv), by striking that involves and all that follows through 2425 of this title and inserting that involves an offense described in subsection (e)(3)(E); and

(2)

in subsection (e)(3), by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting the following:

(E)

an offense—

(i)

involving a minor victim under section 1201, 1591, 2241(a), 2241(b), 2242, 2244(a)(1), 2245, 2421, or 2422(a) of this title; or

(ii)

under section 1466A(a), 2241(c), 2251A, 2252(a)(1), 2252(a)(2), 2252(a)(3), 2252A(a)(1), 2252A(a)(2), 2252A(a)(3), 2252A(a)(4), 2260, 2422(b), 2423, or 2425 of this title.

.

(e)

Supervised release for violations of section 1466A after imprisonment

Section 3583(k) of title 18, United States Code, is amended, in the first sentence, by inserting 1466A, before 1591,.

Passed the Senate December 16, 2025.

Secretary