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> Really, possession and distribution of these images should be legal. Strongly disagree.

by rmc 10y ago

gambiting 10y ago
My opinion is that it should not be illegal to posses any information. It should not be illegal to have a book, drawing or an image of anything. In some countries it's illegal to have drawings of such pornography - and while I agree that individuals who enjoy it should probably seek treatment, I find the fact that you can go to prison for possession of a drawing to be absolutely insane.
- jsmeaton 10y ago
  Possession promotes exploitation of children. It's very different to possessing content of dubious (to some) but consensual participants. Relevant case law is linked elsewhere in this thread which discusses why child pornography (and possession and transfer) is outside protection of free speech.
  - gambiting 10y ago
    I am just thinking of a case where a guy was in court for possession of child pornography, and the porn star flew to the court to show her ID and prove that yes, she was older than 18, despite her small figure. If simple possession wasn't illegal then the case wouldn't even happen. People have also been arrested and lost careers because they had pictures of their own children taking a bath or playing in the pool. As for consent - it's perfectly legal for anyone to have videos and pictures of murder, despite murder being just as illegal. You can go on google and find videos of beheadings within 5 seconds. Why is that any different? Because some people get off pictures of children? I am sure there are people who get off pictures of murder. My point is - just having pictures of anything(and I mean anything) should not be illegal on its own. Producing them - absolutely. Distributing them - sure. But going to prison for having one? That's just wrong in my opinion.
    - DanBC 10y ago
      > Why is that any different? Murder is uncommon. Sexual abuse of children is very much more common. Most murderers only kill one person; it's not premeditated; they will never kill anyone ever again. Child abusers don't commit a single act of child abuse. They commit many offences against the child, sometimes over years of that person's life, and sometimes moving on to other children. The crimes and the criminals are very very different.
      - gambiting 10y ago
        Can you explain why rarity of a crime would have anything to do with legality of pictures/videos of it happening?
- rmc 10y ago
  But what about copyright law? Can I have a harddrive full of movies which I haven't bought and downloaded off bittorrent? What about data privacy law? Should it be legal for me to have a recording of a conversation you & I had, which you didn't know was being recorded? What if I break into a hospital and steal all their medical records? Should I be allowed to have them? Transmit the data to whoever I want? Sell the data?
  - gambiting 10y ago
    I am absolutely certain that having a hard drive full of movies is not illegal - downloading them off bittorrent is though. If you were sentenced, you would be sentenced for downloading them, not for simply having them. Same with a recording - having it is not illegal, but recording me without my consent is. Having a drive full of medical records is not illegal, but break in and theft is. You can legally have a video of a real murder, with murder still being 100% illegal and heavily persecuted. Do you see what my point is?
    - rmc 10y ago
      And what about national security information? Just as various people at The Guardian whether possessing the Snowdon documentation is legal (hint: It's not).

> Really, possession and distribution of these images should be legal. Strongly disagree.

by rmc 10y ago

> Really, possession and distribution of these images should be legal. Strongly disagree.

My opinion is that it should not be illegal to posses any information. It should not be illegal to have a book, drawing or an image of anything. In some countries it's illegal to have drawings of such pornography - and while I agree that individuals who enjoy it should probably seek treatment, I find the fact that you can go to prison for possession of a drawing to be absolutely insane.

jsmeaton 10y ago
Possession promotes exploitation of children. It's very different to possessing content of dubious (to some) but consensual participants. Relevant case law is linked elsewhere in this thread which discusses why child pornography (and possession and transfer) is outside protection of free speech.
- gambiting 10y ago
  I am just thinking of a case where a guy was in court for possession of child pornography, and the porn star flew to the court to show her ID and prove that yes, she was older than 18, despite her small figure. If simple possession wasn't illegal then the case wouldn't even happen. People have also been arrested and lost careers because they had pictures of their own children taking a bath or playing in the pool. As for consent - it's perfectly legal for anyone to have videos and pictures of murder, despite murder being just as illegal. You can go on google and find videos of beheadings within 5 seconds. Why is that any different? Because some people get off pictures of children? I am sure there are people who get off pictures of murder. My point is - just having pictures of anything(and I mean anything) should not be illegal on its own. Producing them - absolutely. Distributing them - sure. But going to prison for having one? That's just wrong in my opinion.
  - DanBC 10y ago
    > Why is that any different? Murder is uncommon. Sexual abuse of children is very much more common. Most murderers only kill one person; it's not premeditated; they will never kill anyone ever again. Child abusers don't commit a single act of child abuse. They commit many offences against the child, sometimes over years of that person's life, and sometimes moving on to other children. The crimes and the criminals are very very different.
    - gambiting 10y ago
      Can you explain why rarity of a crime would have anything to do with legality of pictures/videos of it happening?
rmc 10y ago
But what about copyright law? Can I have a harddrive full of movies which I haven't bought and downloaded off bittorrent? What about data privacy law? Should it be legal for me to have a recording of a conversation you & I had, which you didn't know was being recorded? What if I break into a hospital and steal all their medical records? Should I be allowed to have them? Transmit the data to whoever I want? Sell the data?
- gambiting 10y ago
  I am absolutely certain that having a hard drive full of movies is not illegal - downloading them off bittorrent is though. If you were sentenced, you would be sentenced for downloading them, not for simply having them. Same with a recording - having it is not illegal, but recording me without my consent is. Having a drive full of medical records is not illegal, but break in and theft is. You can legally have a video of a real murder, with murder still being 100% illegal and heavily persecuted. Do you see what my point is?
  - rmc 10y ago
    And what about national security information? Just as various people at The Guardian whether possessing the Snowdon documentation is legal (hint: It's not).