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Dutch demand ban of virtual child porn in Second Life

'School for paedophiles'

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The Dutch prosecutor's office is considering legal actions to test the law against child porn in the popular virtual game Second Life. With no clear litigation, it is difficult to act against perpetrators.

Kitty Nooij, who is in charge of the sex offences portfolio at the prosecutor's office in the Netherlands, told Dutch news show Netwerk that she will try to bring cases to court so precedents can be set.

Linden Lab's Second Life is an online digital world with almost three million "residents" claimed by the company. Some areas of Second Life allow adult members to have virtual sex with others who pretend to be children.

Experts, such as psychologist Jos Buschman of the Van Mesdag clinic in Groningen, say Second Life is "by definition a school for paedophiles", despite the fact that adult members like to roleplay as children. Second Life requires all players to be adults.

Virtual child pornography has been a criminal offence in the Netherlands since 2002. However, there is no litigation related to virtual sex with virtual children. Today, at least four political parties in the Netherlands demanded a ban on virtual child porn roleplay.

Discussions about virtual child porn in Second Life already started three years ago with the introduction of an avatar called Sasami Wishbringer, who has the body of an eight year-old. Lately, there are more serious reports about adult players with child avatars soliciting (paid) sex.

Last year, Robin Harper, Linden Lab vice president of community development, wrote in a posting on the official Second Life forum, that "if Second Life has evidence of child pornography or abuse that involves children in the real world, it will act to protect the child and notify the authorities". However, virtual roleplay is allowed. ®

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Latest Comments
Anonymous Coward

Isn't this activity against the USA's PROTECT act of 2003?

I am Lance Sismondi in Second Life. I have been arguing against child sex RP in the SLexchange forums and I agree with Jos Buschman. I could not get one single person that engages in the act of child sex RP as the adult avatar to dialog with me anonymously to "educate me" as to the harmless nature of their child sex RP. Why would anyone engage in this activity in a virtual world if they did not have those very same real life desires? The areas of SL that cater to these pedophiles, such as the Jailbait RP area, and yes I have been there, are providing an environment for pedophiles to war game their strategies and fan their erotic child sex desires. When the erotic thrill they get wanes over time, will they turn to real life targets? I say that it is a good possibility that some may do just that. I'll go out on a limb and state that a good many of them probably have child porn on their computers. You can not use hate speech in SL, but you can simulate child rape. What the hell? I know the act is between 2 consenting adults, which has nothing to do with the fact that these jerks are getting of to their imagined child sex RP. Apparently, the Protect act is still untested regarding this issue and is ripe for it now. Convicted sex offenders that have SL accounts and engage in this activity ARE breaking the law according to a California Deputy DA.

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Blinded by the light.

There is so much media circus around secondlife ,that until you have stepped foot there are lead to believe in wonderous things on the horizion of virtual technology that you get totally blinded ,and its no wonder that people get shocked at the pornography left and right that they were not warned about before hand.

The question´s are why has the media neglected to inform people of the sexual content of this world?

And why is it , that only the Dutch have exercised precaution to this new virtual world while others are diving into it.?

And why does there have to be porn there anyway?

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well

I have to say that people shouldn't use the whole

"It's better them doing it in second life then in real life" tatt

Becouse 99.99% or the people who do roleplay these things would never ever do it in real life anyway and the 0.01% of people who would are proberbly already doing it.

And we should all remember that most child molestation occurs within the family by parents, uncles, aunts, grand parents and first cousins.

All this other stuff is a smoke screen to hide us from the truth, to place the fear on the bogeyman the phantom childmolesting curtain twithcer.

For every one kid hurt by a stranger there are likely dozens, if not hundreds hurt by a family member/close family friend.

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