Federal law defines child pornography as any “visual depiction” involving a minor engaging in “sexually explicit conduct”.
A depiction is “sexually explicit” if it includes sexual activity or vulgar or provocative displays of genitals. A nude image or video of a child is not child porn unless it is “sexually explicit” in nature. This legal definition of sexually explicit conduct does not require that an image depict a child engaging in sexual activity.
An item is a visual depiction if it is a photograph, video, or another form of data that is capable of conversion to a visual image.
A picture of a naked child may constitute illegal child pornography if it is sufficiently sexually suggestive.
