Links to Sources:
The most important source is the actual Seventh Circuit opinion in United States v. Anderegg. The court explicitly says modern generative AI can create virtual abuse imagery “virtually indistinguishable” from imagery involving actual children, expresses concern about how old Supreme Court precedent applies to modern AI, and says it is bound by that precedent. The opinion also confirms that Meta originally reported the Instagram transmission to NCMEC.
Read the Seventh Circuit opinion
NCMEC's Generative AI resource provides the numbers used in the episode. NCMEC reports more than 400,000 CyberTipline reports with a generative-AI nexus in 2025, more than 158,000 images/videos categorized as AI-generated between January 2023 and December 2025, and more than 275 identified direct victims during 2024–2025. It also explains AI deepfakes, sextortion, peer victimization, CyberTipline and Take It Down.
NCMEC: Generative AI and child exploitation
The new Meta lawsuit, Alvarez v. Meta Platforms was filed September 4, 2026. Parents and children allege that Facebook and Instagram photographs were used in connection with biometric, facial-recognition and generative-AI systems without legally required consent. Importantly, these are allegations, and Meta says the lawsuit is without merit.
The Meta AI children's-information incident was reported by Business Insider and The Verge. Meta acknowledged that its AI should not have generated the invasive suggested prompts concerning a user's children and said it fixed the issue.
The Meta advertising investigation found prohibited AI-generated exploitative imagery in ads running on Meta platforms. Subsequent reporting identified hundreds more problematic ads, some involving imagery of real children. Meta says it does not tolerate the material and removed offending ads. Senator Mark Warner also formally requested answers from Meta about its advertising review systems.
The New Mexico child-safety judgment against Meta is a separate case. The New Mexico DOJ says Meta's financial exposure reached $942 million and the court ordered five years of reforms involving teen safety, sextortion, sexual exploitation, privacy and other protections.
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