In the past, we were told that laws against kiddie porn were for the good of kids all around the world. We were told that even gaining access to such porn should be a crime because it encouraged others to create that porn and therefore caused, in a roundabout way, the exploitation of often disadvantaged kids in poorer nations. Even having such porn on your digital devices was a crime despite the owner of the device having nothing directly to do with the creating of the images or video.

And I'm fully in support of all of that. The argument that creating a market for that porn also creates the conditions where the vulnerable are exploited, while not watertight, is at least sufficiently plausible as to make the need to err on the side of caution, strong.

But, what if no kids were harmed or even likely to be harmed? What if the market for the porn didn't encourage the exploitation of the vulnerable? What if the images and/or video was entirely artificially created? AI generated. No kids harmed. No kids likely to be harmed.
What then?

Police forces around the world have been involved in the arrest of 25 people over a child porn ring sharing images and video of kids that was 100% AI generated. A further 300 people are under investigation.

There is precedence here. A few years back a ring was arrested and closed down because they were spreading child porn pictures featuring characters from The Simpsons.

We need to ask ourselves whether we are stopping these activities for the good of the children who aren't in the least endangered or because we find it abhorrent behaviour and are just using the welfare of kids as an excuse.

I will always come down on the side against censorship unless there are compelling reasons for the censorship. I'm pretty sure this one fails that test.

Even if its AI it encourages the real thing.
It normalises exploitation of kids, empowers pedophiles.

Some kids themselves are watching porn at 12 and 13, but one thing has nothing to do with the other.

I agree with Mhaze, but AI is a crime in itself - it opens the gates for the enemy to invade and take over, for computers to rule over the world and make humans and human intelligence dispensable. It also robs us of natural life and destroys our ability to trust one another, so even if humans survive, that would be a miserable existence, useless too.

Other than that, does eating the vegan version of "animals" encourage people to kill and eat real animals?

The witch-hunt against "paedophilia" (a misnomer - what's wrong with loving children, I mean really loving, not sexing?) and anything connected with it has overall caused more damage than good: it separated children from adults and prevented any possibility of inter-generational play and real education. It sends adult pedestrians scurrying in fear to the other side of the street when a child is at sight, it prevents teachers and other adults from physically protecting distressed children from [child-]bullies, it hinders children's ability to play outside on their own, it obviously eliminates all forms of natural and healthy non-sexual touch and creates fear and guilt in anyone who even thinks about it, it helps children to instead fall in love with screens. It even creates more paedophiles by making the practice mysterious, alluring only because it is so strictly forbidden, not because one is even naturally inclined.

It goes even beyond the ridiculous: I knew someone who at his 18th birthday was still going to school, year 12, and was required to obtain a police certificate to continue going to school and seeing his friends there.

This is just what governments want - to isolate the children so they can be easily indoctrinated and moulded to love them alone. Governments require enemies to justify their existence and claim that they are needed.

AI generated morality; best of British luck with that one.

Anyway, in a Secular world morality dies before dies God. God is watching us…from a distance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUClzIitEi8

I think the sadness of a corrupted society, is what it misses out on because of its decline into moral bankruptcy.

So life for kids is projected as a highlight towards indulgences of pleasure as a prime principal; missing is the link of pleasure to a positive outcome which is not destructive but the opposite, one where dedication to a pleasurable life brings rewards beyond their wildest dreams.

Watch this for a demonstration of positive outcomes…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlzuPGQNahc

mhaze,

Where are all your old fart supporters on this? Probably watching a kiddy flick!

Totally agree with AC, why as a society should we tolerate such sickening behavior. "for the good of the children who aren't in the least endangered" Seems mhaze sees no harm in what is a back door exploration of innocent children.