Viewing child porn on the Web 'legal' in New York, state appeals court finds

[notjoe]

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20...ls-court-finds

What the fuck? So, its perfectly fine to view it as long as you don't save the files to your computer. That is some fucked up shit you guys south of the border got going on.

[Oracle Porn]

lets say you go to a tgp, then you get skimmed clicking a gallery thumbs and sent to a CP site, are you now supposed to go to jail? if they prove in court you view CP on your free time I'm guessing then it's a different story.

[CYF]

didnt' see that coming. It kind of makes sense though, I don't think you should be jailed for accidentally viewing something.

[JimmyStephans]

Did you read the whole opinion (34 pages) written by the judge?

The basics are this - that having images in your web browser cache doesn't prove that you viewed them intentionally or that you possessed them intentionally, unless there is another factor involved.

What this ruling does is protect YOU if you happen to be in New York and happen to be on the internet and unintentionally hit a CP page, CP pop-up or CP redirect that you didn't mean to hit. You didn't do it intentionally looking for CP and thus even if you "viewed" the images for a half second and they ended up in your browser cache you wouldn't be tossed in jail.

On the other hand - if they found in your search records and history that you visited a CP site and clicked around it and had searched for it and had a browser history of viewing such sites, then (and only then) they would assume that fact - combined with having images in your cache - WAS intentional and that you should be in jail.

Its the right ruling. If it wasn't that way all of us could be in jail because some far away CP guy managed to get a pop-up in front of us.

The headline, and even much of the story, is written to get traffic and attention, but reading the actual court ruling as written by the judge it makes perfect sense.

[baryl]

Get ready for Fox News to start a crusade. Never let the facts get in the way of a good moral panic.

[CDSmith]

I really think they ought to focus on catching and putting away those who produce and put CP on the web rather than expending valuable law enforcement resources chasing down mere viewers of it. May as well be chasing the wind because as was already said a lot of people inadvertently find it or are redirected to it.

End CP's production/distribution and jail all those involved in the origins of it and you end CP. Period. And you're punishing those who 100% deserve it.

[baddog]

Originally Posted by CDSmith

I really think they ought to focus on catching and putting away those who produce and put CP on the web rather than expending valuable law enforcement resources chasing down mere viewers of it. May as well be chasing the wind because as was already said a lot of people inadvertently find it or are redirected to it.

End CP's production/distribution and jail all those involved in the origins of it and you end CP. Period. And you're punishing those who 100% deserve it.

Without a market there is no profit in providing the product. Any product.

[raymor]

Originally Posted by baryl

Get ready for Fox News to start a crusade. Never let the facts get in the way of a good moral panic.

Yeah let's pretend it's not MSNBC with the sensationalist headline "Viewing child porn on the Web legal in New York". The truth is most of the CP charges were upheld -just two out of hundreds of pics were overturned.

[CDSmith]

Originally Posted by baddog

Without a market there is no profit in providing the product. Any product.

Correct, but too simplistic a view to be any kind of solution in this case. Your comment doesn't take into account all those (now thrice-mentioned) who unintentionally come to have evidence of it on their hard drives.

If someone's purchasing it and downloading it, possessing and possibly redistributing it then that's a different matter, and your view applies fully in that sense.

jimmystephans outlined it correctly. Make laws that punish only those who deserve it.

[Barry-xlovecam]

I read part way through the appeal -- Don't do "independent research" into c/p or simulated c/p ... Both c/p and simulated c/p are already illegal in the USA so what would the point be in downloading and saving c/p videos?

[travs]

Originally Posted by baddog

Without a market there is no profit in providing the product. Any product.

THIS!

[raymor]

Originally Posted by CDSmith

Correct, but too simplistic a view to be any kind of solution in this case. Your comment doesn't take into account all those (now thrice-mentioned) who unintentionally come to have evidence of it on their hard drives.

If someone's purchasing it and downloading it, possessing and possibly redistributing it then that's a different matter, and your view applies fully in that sense.

jimmystephans outlined it correctly. Make laws that punish only those who deserve it.

I certainly have sympathy for those who unintentionally view it, though I suspect few of those are prosecuted, and for those cases close to the line that may be legal in some other countries, but are branded as pedophiles. Obviously mistaken prosecutions based on Amai Lui type content are another matter as well.

That said, looking at how to stop it, my understanding is that the most successful efforts have been starting with those who download it, trade it, participate in forums dedicated to it, or buy it. By putting legal pressure on those buying it and trading it, they have in the best cases been able to track it back to the distributors and "producers" (child molestors). So the most effective way to get to the molestors seems to be starting with the "low guy on the totem pole" and interrogating him to find out where he gets it, how, who he pays, if anyone, etc. I don't mind if the police put that guy through some grief in order to investigate a build a case against serial molesters.

[anexsia]

Originally Posted by baddog

Without a market there is no profit in providing the product. Any product.

They would never be able to lock up enough child porn viewers to make much of a difference, just like it hasn't worked with the illegal drug market either. It makes sense in theory but history has proven that it usually doesn't work.