<![CDATA[Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has created new forms of child sexual abuse material that challenge existing child protection and cybercrime frameworks. This study explores the extent to which the national legal framework can address AI-generated child sexual abuse material (AI-CSAM), including semi-synthetic and fully synthetic materials. It also evaluates whether the state has fulfilled its obligations to protect children’s rights, as a component of human rights, in digital environments. This study employed a doctrinal legal research methodology, utilizing statutory and conceptual approaches. The analysis is grounded in a human rights-based approach and the theory of state obligations, with a focus on four principles of state obligation in the context of children’s rights protection: non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, participation, accountability, and the duties to respect, protect, and fulfill children’s rights. The study finds that existing legal frameworks function in a fragmented and insufficiently responsive manner to the technological characteristics of AI-generated abuse materials, particularly deepfake manipulation, prompt-based generation, synthetic victims, the abuse of datasets, and the legal obligations of digital platforms and AI developers. The state’s obligations remain only partially fulfilled due to inadequate procedures for handling digital evidence, preventing revictimization, regulating corporate responsibility, facilitating child-friendly mechanism for content reporting and removal, supporting victim recovery, coordinating institutions, and strengthening AI-specific enforcement capacity. This study conceptualizes AI-CSAM as a distinct form of technology-enabled sexual exploitation, extending beyond conventional online abuse and deepfake cases. The study argues that a more explicit, child-centered, and preventive legal framework is necessary to ensure effective protection, reporting, content removal, accountability, and recovery.]]>
