Issue of the Day

Jump to Last Post 1-11 of 11 discussions (28 posts)
  1. barryrutherford profile image75
    barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

    Should watching any content which is freely available on the Internet be a criminal offence ?

    1. Misha profile image63
      Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      It shouldn't - but it is.

  2. Cagsil profile image70
    Cagsilposted 13 years ago

    Watching "any" content which is freely available on the Internet be a criminal issue?

    Well, I guess that would depend on the "content" that is being freely distributed.

    I can think of some content that is spread about the Internet and shouldn't even be available, but it is.

    I get the freedom of expression and free speech right of each person, but some content is so mature or bizarre or violates "laws" - government and religious - it is disturbing to the senses.

    So, again - "any"? Is subjective. Could you be more specific?

    1. profile image0
      Home Girlposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      if you feel guilty - don't watch it.

  3. barryrutherford profile image75
    barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

    What if your doing it in the privacy of your own home ?

    1. Cagsil profile image70
      Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      My point is not a privacy matter. It depends on the content.

      1. barryrutherford profile image75
        barryrutherfordposted 13 years agoin reply to this

        Wel, my point about the privacy is that it is not affecting anyone but you yourself & how much that affects you well it is so subjective.  I mean I find lots of feature films very very disturbing!

  4. barryrutherford profile image75
    barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

    A famous ABC Australia TV presenter has been charged with a Criminal Offence  for  downloading "offensive" pornography to his computer

    1. Cagsil profile image70
      Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      The pornography was "offensive" to whom?

      I am of the understanding that that position is a religious position, with regards to pornography, up to a point, where it exploits children, then is a moral issue.

      Privacy doesn't matter at that point, because the action of the person is perpetuating a demoralizing type of action and indirectly affecting the lives of children.

      Adult content that is pornography(adult sexual action) should not be invaded for whatever reasons. In the privacy of their home of adult pornography as I described, should be protected at all costs. In the privacy of their own home isn't harming or hurting society, because the product is a legitimate/legal goods offered and most likely didn't result in the harm of anyone during the making.

      Offensive?? Just the arrest of this person IS offensive. lol

    2. Ivorwen profile image66
      Ivorwenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      So, he didn't just watch it, he also downloaded it. 

      That means he is now in possession of it, as it is now on his hard drive.

      As I understand the laws here, if that was child pornography, or something else that is illegal (is there anything else that is illegal?) then yes, he would be in violation of the law.

      1. barryrutherford profile image75
        barryrutherfordposted 13 years agoin reply to this

        I know he is in vioalation of the law but should he be ?  That is my issue.  Just like me watching an X rated violenct film showing torture murder or serial killing why is that not against the Law ?

  5. goldenpath profile image67
    goldenpathposted 13 years ago

    No, but putting certain content on the internet should be. 

    My fear is for the young.  Since the internet content will never be regulated or monitored to any satisfactory degree the proper supervision of our youth still is and will always rest with the parents.  Far too many of our parents need to wake up and raise a generation of integrity and self reliance.  Parents needs to cut the bonds that modern legislation and social stigmas have placed on parenthood in relation to a child's "rights."

    1. barryrutherford profile image75
      barryrutherfordposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I agree about puttin or selling or distributing offensive content should be an Offence but downloading what is there for your own consumption i have an issue with that !

      1. goldenpath profile image67
        goldenpathposted 13 years agoin reply to this

        I agree.  It's a sticky matter.  We all have free agency and we make good and bad choices.  What we do in the privacy of our home in front of the computer might be bad choices but should not necessarily constitute a criminal choice - at least in terms of downloading.  It's a matter of what you do with that information from there.  Will it feed your lust to go out and commit perverted acts?  Will it incite your senses to act in openly illegal ways?  The information may be unsavory but how we act on it is more important.

        1. barryrutherford profile image75
          barryrutherfordposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Yes well this is my point I went and saw a movie like Saw or Sawii or something similar be banned because it may make me a serial killer ?

          1. goldenpath profile image67
            goldenpathposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I would still say no because we, individually, still chose to view and process the information.  That alone is not the producers fault.  However, knowing that certain end results could happen from viewing such material is grounds, in my opinion, for making it illegal to produce.

  6. Shadesbreath profile image79
    Shadesbreathposted 13 years ago

    Are you trying to make some tacit argument over whether or not child porn should be legal to view "in the privacy of the home?"

  7. wilderness profile image95
    wildernessposted 13 years ago

    Some should be criminal, such as child pornography.  It might be simpler to say that any content that violates law in the production should be illegal to own or watch, but that is simplistic and might not work. 

    Sure, child porn, snuff films, true sadism; all should be criminal as some one has been hurt in production.  Others such as smoking marijuana hurt no one and should be legal.  Not a real easy problem to solve as it is not as simple as it sounds.

  8. barryrutherford profile image75
    barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

    ok we ban child prography which may or may not create a peadophile
    how about very violent films which may or may not create violent people

    1. wilderness profile image95
      wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I am not as concerned with the pedophile or violent people as with the victims of the producers.  With no audience or customer the film will probably not be made at all.

      While the producer MAY be a pedophile I think the odds would be much against it.  Few pedophiles would film themselves in the act and then post it (although that might even be a good thing!) and fewer yet would be content to merely film while missing the action.  I would think that most often the producer is in it for primarily money - without an audience that motive goes away.

      The same probably holds true for the other types that should perhaps be made criminal to watch or own.

      1. barryrutherford profile image75
        barryrutherfordposted 13 years agoin reply to this

        So it is the mind of the producers that come up with this stuff.  When we watch it I guess we could turn it off but then I went to see a movie called  "Law AbidingCitizen" at the movie Cinema and it wa nothing to do with that it was about a serial killer and the death penalty

        1. wilderness profile image95
          wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          I apologize, but I don't understand your point.  If I may repeat myself, it is the victims of the producer - the 10 year old girl being raped for the camera, the actual corpse on the floor, etc. that is my primary concern.  Without an audience to watch such acts the girl won't be raped or the person killed.

    2. Cagsil profile image70
      Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      In the end of the day at that point would be left up to choice. Those who choose to commit violent acts against others, even in the privacy of their own home, should still face criminal charges.

      Watching violence isn't violent, until those who watch it decide by choice to engage in the same manner. A lack of self-control could play a factor, however, doesn't excuse the actions providing someone else is harmed in the end.

    3. Lisa HW profile image61
      Lisa HWposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      The thing with child pornography isn't whether it "creates a pedophile" or not.  It's whether someone exploited and abused children to MAKE the film in the first place, about some's choice to leave children scarred for life after being used, and about the fact that is perverts didn't buy that stuff there wouldn't be a market for in the first place.  Similar concepts could be applied at to least to SOME violent films, depending on how they were made and whether anyone or anything was exploited or abused.

      It's not legal to buy stolen goods; so it makes sense that it wouldn't be legal to buy or otherwise obtain material considered, "illegal".

      So, to me, if the films violate laws then I don't have a problem with having them called, "illegal", and going after anyone who buys them and patronizes a business that makes illegal stuff.

      If it's legal films but the law says people have to be 18 to buy/rent them, then I don't have a problem with going after 16-year-olds who have them on their computers.

  9. Misha profile image63
    Mishaposted 13 years ago

    Oh Barry, scared people know no reason. Once the word pedophile is said, the discussion is over. sad

    1. barryrutherford profile image75
      barryrutherfordposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Well i mean as long as the topic remains taboo what progress will ever be made by thinking minds to either treat the issue of peadophilia or treat any acts of violence ?

  10. Misha profile image63
    Mishaposted 13 years ago

    No progress. But it is a very convenient topic for any government to justify almost any privacy breach, so the effort is definitely made to keep the status quo, and powers that be are not interested in solving those issues - providing the issues exist at all at any measurable scale...

  11. lxxy profile image60
    lxxyposted 13 years ago

    No, and depending on what it is, where you are, who is serving it, and how old it is...it's not illegal. But barring any of those loopholes, internet providers should be dumb pipelines. That's all we need them for--not for policing.

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)