Law / United States / Wisconsin
2023 Wisconsin Act 224, Possession of Virtual Child Pornography
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force since 29 March 2024.
An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not receive, distribute, produce, possess, or access with intent to view obscene material containing a depiction of a purported child engaging in sexually explicit conduct, if you know or reasonably should know it contains such a depiction.
- This reaches material generated wholly or partly by artificial intelligence with no actual child involved; the depiction needs only to appear to depict an actual child.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Except where the actor is under 18 years of age when the offense occurs, a violation is a Class D felony (fine not to exceed $100,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 25 years, or both, under Wis. Stat. § 939.50(3)(d)); where the actor is under 18, it is a Class I felony instead (fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 3 years and 6 months, or both, under Wis. Stat. § 939.50(3)(i)).
Penalty structure
The $100,000 figure is the maximum fine for the general Class D felony tier under Wis. Stat. § 939.50(3)(d), which also carries imprisonment up to 25 years. Where the actor was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense, the ceiling is instead the Class I felony amount, a $10,000 fine or imprisonment up to 3 years and 6 months, or both.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- 6 September 2026
- Currency
- USD
- Fixed cap
- 100,000
What it reaches
Obligation class
Prohibition
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Whoever receives, distributes, produces, or possesses, or accesses in any way with the intent to view, obscene material that contains a depiction of a purported child engaging in sexually explicit conduct is guilty of a felony, if the person knows or reasonably should know that the material contains such a depiction.
"Depiction of a purported child" is defined as a visual representation that appears to depict an actual child but may or may not depict an actual child, and "obscene material" is defined to include a digital or computer-generated image or picture satisfying the standard Miller obscenity test (appeals to the prurient interest, is patently offensive under contemporary community standards, and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, educational, or scientific value).
Because the depiction need not show a real child, this reaches wholly computer-generated or AI-generated child sexual abuse material with no actual child involved. Created by 2023 Wisconsin Act 224 (2023 Senate Bill 314), enacted March 27, 2024 and published March 28, 2024; because the act does not itself prescribe an effective date, it took effect the day after its publication, March 29, 2024, under the state's general rule for acts enacted without an emergency clause.
When LexLint raises it
generates_contentpublishes_adult_content
Read the law
official act text, 2023 Wisconsin Act 224, Wisconsin Legislature (docs.legis.wisconsin.gov)