|
"U.S. Congress enacted the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 (CPPA) to fight the battle against the sexual exploitation of children. However the CPPA was very broad, and with the advancement of technology the statute may encroach on First Amendment rights to free speech. Most people would agree that the use of actual children in the production of sexually explicit videos or photographs is child abuse. The question remains whether the government may criminalize the production and possession of virtual child pornography if no child is used in the production of pornography and the images are completely fictional.
In Ashcroft v. The Free Speech Coalition, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the government may not criminalize such action because the production of virtual child pornography does not sexually abuse an actual child."
"The Court rejected the government's argument that virtual child pornography encourages pedophiles to abuse children. The Court noted that "virtual child pornography is not intrinsically related to the sexual abuse of children" and that "the causal link is contingent and indirect."
The government argued that virtual child pornography could have the tendency to persuade the audience to commit crimes. The Court struck down this argument, stating, "the prospect of crime, however, by itself does not justify laws suppressing protected speech. Even if virtual pornography encourages unlawful acts, it is not a sufficient reason for banning it."
The government also argued that eliminating the market for actual child pornography was a sufficient reason for the Court to uphold the constitutionality of the law. The Court disagreed and noted that the market for actual child pornography might be eliminated if there was an alternative source. "If virtual images were identical to illegal child pornography, the illegal images would be driven from the market by the indistinguishable substitutes. Few pornographers would risk prosecution by abusing real children if fictional, computerized images would suffice.""
Editors: Karene Jade Howie
|