Cyberporn Laws

[Snoopkittykat]

What is the name of your state? California.

I am doing a presentation for my Criminal Justice class on Cyberpornography. I was told by a San Diego Police Officer, that perusing illegal porn was illegal only when things are downloaded to your computer. Is this accurate? Could someone elaborate on the Cyberporn laws? Both Federal/State would be great. Can you really view things like child pornography legally as long as you do not download anything?

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? California.

I am doing a presentation for my Criminal Justice class on Cyberpornography. I was told by a San Diego Police Officer, that perusing illegal porn was illegal only when things are downloaded to your computer. Is this accurate? Could someone elaborate on the Cyberporn laws? Both Federal/State would be great. Can you really view things like child pornography legally as long as you do not download anything?

**A: a view on the computer monitor is considered a download period.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Everytime you visit a website you save the elements to your harddrive, whether or not you do so purposely.

Check in your C:\WINDOWS\Temp\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5 directory and you'll be surprised.

 

[papercut]

What is the name of your state? California.

I am doing a presentation for my Criminal Justice class on Cyberpornography. I was told by a San Diego Police Officer, that perusing illegal porn was illegal only when things are downloaded to your computer. Is this accurate? Could someone elaborate on the Cyberporn laws? Both Federal/State would be great. Can you really view things like child pornography legally as long as you do not download anything?

The police are frequently misinformed. It is probably more likely that there would be a federal office monitoring this type of thing because stuff on the internet can be from anywhere or viewed anywhere. I think most people would get pissed off if they had to see that in a presentation anyway.
Smart thing is to have nothing to do with it.

 

[HomeGuru]

The police are frequently misinformed. It is probably more likely that there would be a federal office monitoring this type of thing because stuff on the internet can be from anywhere or viewed anywhere.

**A: correct but that is not the real reason.
********
I think most people would get pissed off if they had to see that in a presentation anyway.

**A: who said anything about showing the porn in a presentation?
*********
Smart thing is to have nothing to do with it.

**A: read the post. This is for a school class presentation.

 

[papercut]

**A: read the post. This is for a school class presentation.

Right. I would get pissed off if someone was subjecting me to child pornography while I was in a class watching a presentation. There are students in the class and the teacher watching the presentation.

 

[CdwJava]

Having worked child porn cases myself, I suspect that what the SDPD officer was relating had to do with merely viewing the porn could not be proven in court ... however, downloading the pics could be. And as was mentioned, when you visit a website, there are temp. files that ARE downloaded to your computer and thus the image is recorded there.

Here is a take on CA law from the California Peace Officer's Legal Sourcebook covering some of the elements of child pornography here:

This topic is governed by the Penal Code starting with section 311, which defines various terms, such as "obscene matter," and "obscene live conduct."

Sections 311.1 and 311.2 prohibit the sale, distribution, production or exhibition of obscene matter involving minors, with or without a commercial consideration, including computer related images (felony or misdemeanor). There is no legally protected privacy interest in the distribution of obscene matter. (See Wiener (1994) 29 Cal.App.4th 1300, 1307.) Section 311.3 prohibits "sexual exploitation" of a child, as defined. Section 311.4 forbids the employment of minors to perform prohibited sexual acts (felony or misdemeanor) (see Cantrell (1992) 7 Cal.App.4th 523, 542, and Kongs (1994) 30 Cal.App.4th 1741, 1752). Section 311.6 prohibits participation in obscene live performances (misdemeanor). Section 311.10 prohibits advertising obscene matter, knowing it depicts a person under 18 engaging in actual or simulated sexual conduct (felony). And section 311.11 prohibits the possession of child (under 18) pornography. (See Kongs (1994) 30 Cal.App.4th 1741, 1756.)

The prohibitions of these sections now also include all electronic and computer related or generated information, data, and images.

Additionally, under Penal Code section 311.4, subdivision (b), if the prohibited acts are committed for “commercial purposes,” the offense is necessarily a felony. “Commercial purposes” include posting images on the Internet with the intent to trade, versus profit. (Cochran (2002) 28 Cal.4th 396, 398, 406.)

Those involved in the child porn trade try all manner of methods to conceal or otherwise deflect their own blame ... most often claiming to not know the images were on their computer. Unfortunately for the perpetrators, such arguments rarely succeed.

- Carl

 

[Crazed98]

Right. I would get pissed off if someone was subjecting me to child pornography while I was in a class watching a presentation. There are students in the class and the teacher watching the presentation.

Read the post again. Nowhere in his post does it say he will be showing his class child pornography.