Child sexual abuse material update lapses into law

(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Saturday he allowed an incomplete bill to pass without his signature that replaces the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” in existing state law.

While Shapiro said he “fully supports” the proposal’s intent, his choice comes down to clarity. Further definitions for child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, are not elaborated, meaning schools and libraries will have to parse out what material qualifies when crafting internet use policies.

In a statement, the governor directed the General Assembly to correct this omission when they return to session in the fall. The law will go into effect Sept. 17, at which point public institutions are expected to change the language for their internal policies, too.

The bill follows up on a recommendation from the Child Pornography Task Force, which suggested that the term “child pornography” is itself outdated and fails to encompass the full impact of the crime.

Technology has been a major factor in the evolution of child pornography laws as the ability to photograph and disseminate images via text and email has allowed abusive material to proliferate widely, often largely unchecked.

Legislators have had to make distinct laws for minors interacting with each other in order to avoid unduly harsh punishments for sexting. These laws criminalize possession of explicit images of minors age 12-17 without classifying other minors as sex offenders.

The governor also urged schools and libraries to “maintain the status quo” by continuing to enforce the current policies, which typically prohibit viewing of any sexual materials on public computers while highlighting the criminality of CSAM.

In the Chester County Library System, for example, the current Acceptable Use policy notes, “The viewing of child pornography is a criminal act and may be prosecutable as a felony,” which would be changed to “The viewing of child sexual abuse material is a criminal act…”

With nationwide controversy around the classification and removal of sexual material from libraries, leaving CSAM undefined also leaves the door wide open for interpretation.

Conservative groups like Moms for Liberty have pushed to remove library books addressing issues of gender and sexuality based on loose parameters of what constitutes sexually explicit materials. Internet policies, however, operate by blocking certain websites, putting the onus on the user for any violations.

For his part, Shapiro, now a potential frontrunner for the Democratic party’s vice presidential nomination , made a name for himself prosecuting child sexual abuse cases as the Attorney General, including the state’s historic investigation into abuse within the Catholic church.