CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material)

CSAM stands for child sexual abuse material: any visual depiction of the sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor. The term has largely replaced the older phrase "child pornography" because experts and advocates note that the newer wording accurately reflects that the content documents the abuse of a child and that a minor cannot consent. Possession, production, and distribution of CSAM are serious crimes under U.S. federal law, and the term is treated as inherently illegal material rather than a category of protected speech.

In the United States, online platforms including Reddit are legally required under 18 U.S.C. § 2258A to report apparent child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline when they become aware of it. Reddit states that it removes such content, bans the accounts involved, and reports to NCMEC, which in turn works with law enforcement. The scale of the problem is large: NCMEC reports that its CyberTipline receives tens of millions of reports in a single year. This entry is descriptive only and does not contain or link to any such material; suspected exploitation should be reported to the CyberTipline.