Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Virtual child pornography legal
How does technology affect human behavior
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Virtual child pornography legal
In today’s fast developing and modern society the thought of seeing two grown adults having sex is still considered taboo. Most Americans cringe at the thought of seeing pornography and dismiss the act as nothing more than a senseless lewd act. Yet, the Supreme Court held that pornography was to be considered a form of personal expression and should be protected under the first amendment (New York v. Ferber, 1973). The Supreme Court did not choose to extend the same constitutional protection to child pornography, arguing against its explicit and hurtful content. Supreme Court Justices argued that child pornography has no scientific, literary, artistic, or political value; they thought the material that was going to arise from child pornography was going to cause more harm than good if they were to allow it to be protected. As society began to change and computer animation technology advanced a growing question began to be formed: should virtual pornography be constitutionally protected, under the argument that it is a form of personal expression and that it’s content has significant scientific, literary, artistic, or political value? Unlike actual child pornography, which has to include two innocent children partaking in sexual acts, virtual pornography consist of two computer generated children engaging in sexual acts. The same rational and arguments that were used by the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of child pornography cannot be applied to virtual pornography. The pain and lifetime of suffering that child pornography brings to its victims was a big reason behind not extending the first amendment to such work; however, virtual pornography does not have any real life victims involved in its work. The images se... ... middle of paper ... ...ess the skills and have the technology necessary to distinguish between virtual and real child pornography. Though the U.S government tried to protect the innocent lives of the victims who have been forced to participate in child pornography by expanding the law to virtual child pornography they failed to adequately express their reasons behind why a law like CPPA should be in existence. Ultimately, the Supreme Court Justices voted to have virtual child pornography be a constitutionally protected form of free speech. Justice O’Connor explains that “the basis for the holding is unclear” and the basis for their decision is based on the oral arguments brought forward by the government. Only time will tell if there are any negative effects from allowing virtual child pornography to exist, yet at this time virtual pornography is constitutionally protected free speech.
Today, “60 percent of children who use the Internet regularly come into contact with pornography” (Hanes 1). In Stephanie Hanes’ article, “Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect”, she provides undeniable evidence to suggest that the culture of today’s world causes sexualization of children, specifically of females, at an alarmingly young age. This sexualization has become increasingly invasive in the past decade, so much so that parents, educators, and even more recently politicians have decided to try to counteract some these negative effects. In this article, Stephanie Hanes uses strong research with logical arguments that support this
27 Baird, Robert M. and Stuart E Rosenbaum. Pornography - Private Right or Public Menace Pg. 52
The case that I chose to analyze is Reno v. ACLU. It is the first Internet related U.S. Supreme Court case ever to be decided. Seven of the justices found the argued provisions of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) were unconstitutional under the First Amendment. The court found that the Internet is similar to a shopping mall or library not a broadcast medium as the government refered to it. The majority opinion for this case was that the Internet is a unique marketplace for ideas. The ruling states that while there is a large amount of pornographic material out there, it normally isn’t come across on accident. They stated that the CDA already holds back a good amount of speech that is alright for adult to adult conversations, which they do have a constitutional right to receive. While they recognize the CDA efforts to protect children from harmful speech and pornographic material, it still does not justify the unnecessarily broad suspension of speech. The final outcome was that they found that what the CDA was trying to do would violate speakers messages who are rightfully protected under the First Amendment.
America, the ideal place for freedom, is home to a vast amount of liberties and rights that many countries do not acquire. In this country, citizens have the freedom to practice any religion they desire, live wherever they want to live, and love whoever they want to love. In this country, citizens have the right to choose any career, ranging from school teacher to politician and the liberty to reproduce as many children as they would like and speak their minds freely. In this country, with one click of a button, citizens have the ability to view explicit, videotaped, sexual activity for no cost at all. Pornography or the pornographic industry is one of America’s most profitable industries, making billions of dollars annually. Despite pornography’s
Pornography is considered by many to be an unwelcome and distasteful part of our society. However, I argue that it is necessary to voice the unpopular viewpoints, under the Constitution. This paper is a defense of pornography as a constitutional right of free expression, under the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. In illustrating this argument, I will first define pornography as a concept, and then address central arguments in favor of pornography remaining legal and relatively unregulated – such as the development of the pornography debate throughout modern US law, and how activist groups address the censorship of adult entertainment.
In her essay “Let’s Put Pornography Back in the Closet,” Susan Brownmiller, a prominent feminist activist, argues that pornography should not be protected under the First Amendment (59). Her position is based on the belief that pornography is degrading and abusive towards women (Brownmiller 59). She introduces the reader to the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, and explains how it relates to her beliefs on censoring pornographic material (Brownmiller 58). In addition, she provides examples of First Amendment controversies such as Miller v. California and James Joyce’s Ulysses to explain how the law created a system to define pornographic material (Brownmiller 58). She described the system that used a three-part test as confusing (Brownmiller 58). Regardless of whether or not the First Amendment was intended to protect obscenities, she and many others believe that the legislatures should have the final say in the decision of creating and publishing pornography (Brownmiller 60).
When deliberating over whether access to pornography should be prohibited, four areas of contention must be elaborated upon and evaluated critically to provide a sensible basis on which a judgement can be made. Firstly, it must be concluded whether pornography can be classed as a form of speech, and whether it enjoys the same protections as art and literature under the principle. Secondly, works such as those of Catherine MacKinnon can be drawn upon to offer a feminist perspective of the effects of pornography on the treatment of women within modern democratic society. Moreover, the principles of Devlin and Feinberg offer relevant acumen regarding the criminalisation of pornographic media. Overall, this essay will argue that whilst access to pornography should not be entirely prohibited; publications that depict ‘extreme’ situations should be subject to regulation and restriction.
...e. "Internet Pornography Should Be Restricted." Free Speech. Ed. Scott Barbour. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2000. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "Porn on the Internet: Is It Free Speech?" Family Voice (Mar. 1997). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
McCarthy, M. (2005). THE CONTINUING SAGA OF INTERNET CENSORSHIP: THE CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION ACT. Brigham Young University Education & Law Journal, (2), 83-101.
While it is certainly interesting to see how deeply pornography has permeated our culture, it does nothing to show whether this is good or bad. Many defend their right to record, publish, sell, buy, and view pornography, but that is not the real question. Rational people will decide for themselves what they should do about it and parents will decide what they need to do for their children, but first pornography must analyzed. Only after the pros and cons are measured should the policy be altered.
Pornography has been the leading player in exhibiting sexual behavior to those who care for such things. In fact, Pornography has become an $8 billion a year industry. However, like every industry, ethical and moral questions and situations come up. Although there are many in dealing with pornography, we will explore the area of Child Pornography.
In the today’s society, social media has gone out of hand. Most people these days have a cell phone, Ipad and/or laptop and most definitely a television at their home. Therefore, access to pornography has become extremely easy and can be available to any individual in less than 5 minutes. The best definition of pornography can be explained as sexually explicit words or images intended to provoke sexual arousal. The easy access to porn has raised many people to question if porn is harmful, if it should be censored, and if it is unsafe. Many debates have been going on about porn concerning freedom of rights, speech, and entertainment and right of privacy. The main people to have argued on this point are Catherine Mackinnon and philosopher J.S. Mill.
Rae, Michale C. “What Is Pornography?” Wiley.com 17 Dec. 2002. Michael C. Rae. 26. Mar. ffffff 2014
...nt and Civil Liberties groups, no one seems to be making much headway in determining where the line should be drawn when it comes to pornography. The positive is that child pornography is being acknowledged as a real problem, but law enforcement officials are still having a great deal of difficulty fighting it. The United States is taking steps toward implementing a multi-layered approach to governance, which will allow adults their freedom and protect children at the same time, but as of right now we are a long way from a solution.