On 16th April 2002, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 was unconstitutional. The law targeted computer technologies that can be used to alter an innocent picture of a child into a depiction of a child engaged in sex.
The Free Speech Coalition, a trade association representing the porn industry, said it supports a ban on child porn, but argued that the legislation could ban non-obscene sex scenes in respected films. The Supreme Court's ruling shocked those that campaign against child porn.
Congressman Lamar Smith of Texas has introduced a new draft law which would ban many of the images that were once illegal under the 1996 legislation. Other US politicians have described the draft as a necessary response to the Supreme Court ruling.
In the UK, child porn is illegal under the Protection of Children Act. It defines children as those under the age of 16 and those giving the impression that they are under 16. Pseudo photographs are also caught.