As of the PROTECT ACT of 2003, any obscene images depicting minors including virtual images, and thus lolicon, are illegal in the United States. Most countries have obscenity laws that also make it illegal or classify it under CSAM. One notable exception is Germany, where it is not illegal as it does not depict real people.
This doesn't seem to be enforced very broadly considering just how widespread and available the material is. If these laws were enforced, 4chan would have been obliterated 20 years ago.
I mean 4chan have helped various militaries carry out airstrikes in Syria, including against US backed "moderate rebels". I have no idea how that website is still up and running. Fed run website used to incriminate and potentially blackmail internet weirdos?
I think "laws about anime porn aren't enforced" is a more likely explanation than "if someone is possessing or distributing loli porn without getting arrested it means they're a fed"
I mean, is there anyone who is getting prosecuted for it?
You're forgetting that laws in the US are only real when and how the court system decides to interpret them, and this is one of those "judicial precedent/interpretation is much narrower than the common sense reading of the law would suggest" situations. Obscenity laws are something the US really likes putting down as law, and that the courts for the past century or so have similarly liked throwing out. It's like how the current crop of anti-porn state laws are considered unenforceable and expected to be formally struck down.
In this case, IIRC their interpretation of the law is that "virtual images" means something along the lines of photoshops of real people or what was at the time a hypothetical (with AI generation this is no longer hypothetical, but I've only heard about one case where that was a) more in line with the photoshopping interpretation, and b) tacked onto a huge list of other, much more serious charges) rendering or drawing indistinguishable from a photograph. A cartoon that cannot be mistaken for a real person doesn't count, per the courts.
That's why it's so widespread and purging it from places comes down to threatening advertiser revenue or payment processing, and isn't as simple as asking the feds to go after a server owner or domain name.
So at most he could be raided by the feds for it in the hopes that they'd find something actually illegal, but the most likely scenario is they did that long ago and turned him into an asset.
I have no idea how that website is still up and running. Fed run website used to incriminate and potentially blackmail internet weirdos?
It was bought up by some Japanese oligarch that uses it to push right wing agitprop, crypto shit, and their own merchandising stuff IIRC. I think there was a big effortpost about it here a few years ago that broke down exactly what was going on there, but I'm not sure.
And lolicon is illegal stateside due to some Bush Jr era laws on pornography and CSAM. He could legitimately end up being legally prosecuted for this.
If he doesn't, he's basically a confirmed fed.
No shot people are getting prosecuted for lolicon porn, it's way too widespread.
As of the PROTECT ACT of 2003, any obscene images depicting minors including virtual images, and thus lolicon, are illegal in the United States. Most countries have obscenity laws that also make it illegal or classify it under CSAM. One notable exception is Germany, where it is not illegal as it does not depict real people.
This doesn't seem to be enforced very broadly considering just how widespread and available the material is. If these laws were enforced, 4chan would have been obliterated 20 years ago.
The good timeline, where Bush arrested and liquified every 4chan user and then didn't get re-elected because they were load bearing pedophiles.
Oh my god they literally are
Removed by mod
Alright apparently that joke was inappropriate, go man a sigh
I mean 4chan have helped various militaries carry out airstrikes in Syria, including against US backed "moderate rebels". I have no idea how that website is still up and running. Fed run website used to incriminate and potentially blackmail internet weirdos?
I think "laws about anime porn aren't enforced" is a more likely explanation than "if someone is possessing or distributing loli porn without getting arrested it means they're a fed"
I mean, is there anyone who is getting prosecuted for it?
You're forgetting that laws in the US are only real when and how the court system decides to interpret them, and this is one of those "judicial precedent/interpretation is much narrower than the common sense reading of the law would suggest" situations. Obscenity laws are something the US really likes putting down as law, and that the courts for the past century or so have similarly liked throwing out. It's like how the current crop of anti-porn state laws are considered unenforceable and expected to be formally struck down.
In this case, IIRC their interpretation of the law is that "virtual images" means something along the lines of photoshops of real people or what was at the time a hypothetical (with AI generation this is no longer hypothetical, but I've only heard about one case where that was a) more in line with the photoshopping interpretation, and b) tacked onto a huge list of other, much more serious charges) rendering or drawing indistinguishable from a photograph. A cartoon that cannot be mistaken for a real person doesn't count, per the courts.
That's why it's so widespread and purging it from places comes down to threatening advertiser revenue or payment processing, and isn't as simple as asking the feds to go after a server owner or domain name.
So at most he could be raided by the feds for it in the hopes that they'd find something actually illegal, but the most likely scenario is they did that long ago and turned him into an asset.
It was bought up by some Japanese oligarch that uses it to push right wing agitprop, crypto shit, and their own merchandising stuff IIRC. I think there was a big effortpost about it here a few years ago that broke down exactly what was going on there, but I'm not sure.