The Legality of Child Pornography Essay -- Child Pornography Debate Es

The Legality of Child Pornography Child pornography is an ongoing issue as technology progresses in today’s world. Now there are ways to produce child pornography without actually using a real child. While there are acts and laws to protect the children, there are still many unsatisfied people on each side of the issue. There are people who believe the adult entertainment companies, who produce the child pornography; they believe that their First Amendment rights are being violated with current acts and laws against it. There are also people who think that the current laws are not strict enough and that they need to outlaw all types of child pornography. It is necessary for all sides of the issue to be considered and for the appropriate people to take suitable actions to determine the outcome and final decision concerning child pornography. While the First Amendment protects many things, one thing it does not protect is any form of child pornography. That is, any content that shows children, under the age of sixteen, engaged in any form of sexual activity. The question of the legality of child pornography first appeared in 1982, in the case of New York vs. Ferber. It was decided that the creation, promotion and distribution of child pornography was illegal. Also, it is illegal to falsely persuade children into performing sexual acts. There are some images still that are protected by the First Amendment that could still be considered child pornography, depending on their use. For instance, images of child genitalia are legal in medical books, but if these same images are put on an adult website, the courts would most likely rule them illegal (AdultWebLaw, 2002). In any case, child pornography is an ongoing cont... ...rosecute the adult entertainment companies because they are not breaking any laws. Until the Supreme Court rules that any form of child pornography is illegal, there will be no changes in the current standing of this issue. Child pornography, not involving children at the age of sixteen and under, is legal and exercises the adult entertainment industry’s right to free speech. Works Cited: Baase, Sara. (2003). A Gift of Fire: Social, legal, and ethical issues for computers and the Internet. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. Child Pornography. (1998-2002). AdultWebLaw. Retrieved May 21, 2004 from http://www.adultweblaw.com/laws/childporn.htm Child Pornography Prevention Act. (2001, February 6). Evanston, IL: Jean Goodwin. Retrieved May 21, 2004 from http://faculty-web.at.nwu.edu/commstud/freespeech/cont/cases/morphed.html