thought-crime?

[tamaranth]

Second Life 'child abuse' claim

I agree that the exchange of 'real' (as opposed to virtual) pornography is criminal and immoral: but I'm less definite on the criminality of virtual abuse and virtual pornography -- "so called "age play" groups that revolve around the abuse of virtual children", in the words of the feature.

Is virtual crime victimless? Does it harm others? Is it a safety-valve? or preferable to people committing (or planning) those crimes in real life?

There are a great many things that are illegal in reality and legal (even favoured) in game-worlds: mass murder, theft, reckless driving, cruelty to animals, slave-trading, prostitution. I am thinking about what makes virtual pornography a real-world crime.

Comments

[andrewducker]

So surely criminalising the use of it to groom children would be the answer?

(I'm sure that's already illegal, of course)