5 ms·

To ban comments is an important step IMHO, but how about putting the people making the comments behind bars? They will keep watching these videos.

by goshx 8y ago

ceejayoz 8y ago
There's no law making creepy comments like these illegal, at least not in the US. (I can't speak for other countries, and US law is what's relevant here.)
- goshx 8y ago
  That doesn't mean they can't or shouldn't be investigated.
  - saagarjha 8y ago
    For what? They haven't done anything illegal.
    - goshx 8y ago
      I just believe there should be no tolerance for pedophiles. If someone is behaving as a sexual predator online, you ought to suspect that's what they actually are.
      - lucb1e 8y ago
        > no tolerance for pedophiles. Note that this is different from: > sexual predator The former is an ill person; the latter a criminal. Your call for no tolerance for anyone with a certain disease, no matter whether they know it's unacceptable and can cope with suppressing it, is a little too broad in my opinion.
  - ceejayoz 8y ago
    I doubt a creepy comment is sufficient probable cause to open an investigation, barring other indicators.
    - goshx 8y ago
      A google search has been sufficient before. Remember the pressure cooker and backpacks search from a family in New York?
      - ceejayoz 8y ago
        A Google search was not sufficient in that case. The guy's employer tipped them off after firing him - it wasn't some sort of automated keyword monitoring at Google. https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/government-knocking-doors-because-google-searches/312599/ https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/governm...
        goshx 8y ago
        The search alone wasn't sufficient, but was enough to start it all. In YouTube's cases, there are plenty of comments that demonstrate someone is a sexual predator. In my view, if someone "tipped them off", it would be the exact same scenario.
        ceejayoz 8y ago
        "A random person on the internet is posting creepy comments" is likely not probable cause, especially as you'd have to convince someone national like the FBI to care without a specific location. "Someone I know personally is posting creepy comments, and I've always gotten a bad vibe about their interactions with kids" is probably enough to get local cops interested enough to knock on a door.
        jjjensen90 8y ago
        I hope not. Unless there is evidence of a crime that has occurred or evidence that a crime is planned, they have no business (constitutionally) bothering a citizen based on that kind of tip. This is how lives are ruined when there are no victims.
  - Dirlewanger 8y ago
    Go live in the UK if you want the state to engage in those kinds of wasteful endeavors.
  - jjjensen90 8y ago
    This is an extremely dangerous tendency we have as a society, to throw out the concepts of freedom and due process and justice when children are involved. There's 0 reason to "investigate" someone that leaves a pervy comment on a kid's video, and they're free to have whatever fantasies they want. Anything coming close to investigating someone for something like that is too close to the thought police and sounds like 3rd world Big Brother crap.
- DanBC 8y ago
  Some of the comments would have been covered by https://definitions.uslegal.com/c/child-enticement/ https://definitions.uslegal.com/c/child-enticement/
dragonwriter 8y ago
> Ban comments is an important step IMHO, but how about putting the people making the comments behind bars? That's...out of YouTube’s legal authority. > They will keep watching these videos. Watching the videos itself is neither illegal nor harmful to anyone, even if it may correlates with conduct that is either or both.
- goshx 8y ago
  Sadly, you are probably right.
  - dragonwriter 8y ago
    > Sadly, you are probably right. Are you sad that viewing the content in question isn't harmful? Or that it isn't illegal? Or that YouTube—Google, IOW—can’t unilaterally imprison people whose behavior it disapproves of?
    - goshx 8y ago
      Both of your statements. It's probably out of their legal authority and the act of watching a video is obviously not illegal nor harmful to anyone. But that's is a very simplistic view of the situation.
      - dragonwriter 8y ago
        > It's probably out of their legal authority Probably? Is there an actual question about YouTube’s authority to order imprisonment? Because it seems to me that should be a bigger story than them cutting off comments on videos with kids in them.
        goshx 8y ago
        Obviously, YouTube can't imprison anyone. What I am saying "probably" is about what they could do to initiate an investigation on someone that might lead to imprisonment.
thanatos_dem 8y ago
How do you find them? Are you going to start forcing everyone to log in to view videos? And forcing everyone with a google account to verify themselves as a genuine person, with personally identifiable information? Anonymity brings out the worst of some people, sure, but the damage of taking away anonymity is substantially more dangerous IMO. And really, yeah, these people are complete creeps... but how does that affect anyone?
ptruesdell 8y ago
Well, the people leaving the comments aren't actually doing anything illegal. Nor are the people that aggregate these videos with the intent to appeal to pedophiles. That's what makes this such a difficult issue to combat.
dmitrygr 8y ago
> how about putting the > people making the > comments behind bars? Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Emphasis added

To ban comments is an important step IMHO, but how about putting the people making the comments behind bars? They will keep watching these videos.

by goshx 8y ago

To ban comments is an important step IMHO, but how about putting the people making the comments behind bars? They will keep watching these videos.

ceejayoz 8y ago

There's no law making creepy comments like these illegal, at least not in the US. (I can't speak for other countries, and US law is what's relevant here.)

goshx 8y ago
That doesn't mean they can't or shouldn't be investigated.
- saagarjha 8y ago
  For what? They haven't done anything illegal.
  - goshx 8y ago
    I just believe there should be no tolerance for pedophiles. If someone is behaving as a sexual predator online, you ought to suspect that's what they actually are.
    - lucb1e 8y ago
      > no tolerance for pedophiles. Note that this is different from: > sexual predator The former is an ill person; the latter a criminal. Your call for no tolerance for anyone with a certain disease, no matter whether they know it's unacceptable and can cope with suppressing it, is a little too broad in my opinion.
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  I doubt a creepy comment is sufficient probable cause to open an investigation, barring other indicators.
  - goshx 8y ago
    A google search has been sufficient before. Remember the pressure cooker and backpacks search from a family in New York?
    - ceejayoz 8y ago
      A Google search was not sufficient in that case. The guy's employer tipped them off after firing him - it wasn't some sort of automated keyword monitoring at Google. https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/government-knocking-doors-because-google-searches/312599/ https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/governm...
      - goshx 8y ago
        The search alone wasn't sufficient, but was enough to start it all. In YouTube's cases, there are plenty of comments that demonstrate someone is a sexual predator. In my view, if someone "tipped them off", it would be the exact same scenario.
        ceejayoz 8y ago
        "A random person on the internet is posting creepy comments" is likely not probable cause, especially as you'd have to convince someone national like the FBI to care without a specific location. "Someone I know personally is posting creepy comments, and I've always gotten a bad vibe about their interactions with kids" is probably enough to get local cops interested enough to knock on a door.
        jjjensen90 8y ago
        I hope not. Unless there is evidence of a crime that has occurred or evidence that a crime is planned, they have no business (constitutionally) bothering a citizen based on that kind of tip. This is how lives are ruined when there are no victims.
- Dirlewanger 8y ago
  Go live in the UK if you want the state to engage in those kinds of wasteful endeavors.
- jjjensen90 8y ago
  This is an extremely dangerous tendency we have as a society, to throw out the concepts of freedom and due process and justice when children are involved. There's 0 reason to "investigate" someone that leaves a pervy comment on a kid's video, and they're free to have whatever fantasies they want. Anything coming close to investigating someone for something like that is too close to the thought police and sounds like 3rd world Big Brother crap.
DanBC 8y ago
Some of the comments would have been covered by https://definitions.uslegal.com/c/child-enticement/ https://definitions.uslegal.com/c/child-enticement/

dragonwriter 8y ago

> Ban comments is an important step IMHO, but how about putting the people making the comments behind bars? That's...out of YouTube’s legal authority. > They will keep watching these videos. Watching the videos itself is neither illegal nor harmful to anyone, even if it may correlates with conduct that is either or both.

goshx 8y ago
Sadly, you are probably right.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > Sadly, you are probably right. Are you sad that viewing the content in question isn't harmful? Or that it isn't illegal? Or that YouTube—Google, IOW—can’t unilaterally imprison people whose behavior it disapproves of?
  - goshx 8y ago
    Both of your statements. It's probably out of their legal authority and the act of watching a video is obviously not illegal nor harmful to anyone. But that's is a very simplistic view of the situation.
    - dragonwriter 8y ago
      > It's probably out of their legal authority Probably? Is there an actual question about YouTube’s authority to order imprisonment? Because it seems to me that should be a bigger story than them cutting off comments on videos with kids in them.
      - goshx 8y ago
        Obviously, YouTube can't imprison anyone. What I am saying "probably" is about what they could do to initiate an investigation on someone that might lead to imprisonment.

thanatos_dem 8y ago

How do you find them? Are you going to start forcing everyone to log in to view videos? And forcing everyone with a google account to verify themselves as a genuine person, with personally identifiable information? Anonymity brings out the worst of some people, sure, but the damage of taking away anonymity is substantially more dangerous IMO. And really, yeah, these people are complete creeps... but how does that affect anyone?

ptruesdell 8y ago

Well, the people leaving the comments aren't actually doing anything illegal. Nor are the people that aggregate these videos with the intent to appeal to pedophiles. That's what makes this such a difficult issue to combat.

dmitrygr 8y ago

> how about putting the > people making the > comments behind bars? Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Emphasis added