A very interesting point and, in the interest of clarifying the facts in the registration-underage controversy, I'd like to know a bit more.
We're delving into nuances of law and contracts which I, as a non-lawyer, am not familiar with anymore. Given what you've said where are the liabilities/culpabilities if an adult engages in sexual-flavored communication with a minor in SL (who of course has a void contract with SL)?
We're delving into nuances of law and contracts which I, as a non-lawyer, am not familiar with anymore. Given what you've said where are the liabilities/culpabilities if an adult engages in sexual-flavored communication with a minor in SL (who of course has a void contract with SL)?
I'm not a lawyer. So, this is not legal advice.
However, IMNSHO -
Each and every person who participates in Second Life has represented that they have read and agreed to the ToS - which states that one must be of the age of consent (eighteen) in order to use the service. Every person using the service, therefore has a reasonable expectation that /everyone else/ in Second Life has inherently and automatically represented /themselves/ as being of the age of consent (eighteen). Whatever two legal entities engage in over the service is presumed - until suspected or demonstrated otherwise - to be between two entities capable of consent; Buyer/seller, consumer/business, person/person. If person A and person B both consent to cybersex, and two weeks later person B reveals to person A (or is revealed) to be under the age of consent, then everything person A did /up to that point in time/ is completely blameless. They had a reasonable expectation, and the criminal behaviour of person B is not person A's fault.
However, person A, at that point, generally has to stop all communication with person B, AR person B, and quite possibly contact authorities and/or hire themselves a very good lawyer - if not shut down their account altogether, if person B proceeds to make/have another, separate account and contacts person A again - or if contact has been made outside of SL, via email, phone, camera ... The mind spins.
The adult is criminally legally blameless but has a huge emotional, psychological, sociological, and civil legal burden placed upon them and has effectively little or no recourse, beyond hoping that the parents/guardians don't attempt to press charges and don't file civil suit, and that person B isn't bent upon exploiting the difficulties person A is saddled with. Person A sure as hell can't sue person B, nor the parents, both of whom could be absolved of responsibility for B's actions by a judge - though the parents are /always/ responsible for the child's actions and damages in the eyes of the law, good luck suing a minor's parents on those grounds.
Repercussions I can reasonably foresee, for an adult who accidentally engages in cybersex with a minor due to the deception of the minor, include:
Being charged/indicted with a sex crime by zealous police, leading to compulsory addition of person A's name to a sex offender registry - through zero fault of their own and without conviction;
Being sued by the parents in civil court;
Community prejudice/exile
Loss of job due to stigma
loss of parental rights
loss of visitation rights
loss of office
etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
Linden Labs doesn't need bigger and better warnings. Our legal system needs to punish parents that encourage or provide situations where their children break the law and/or entice others into morally, ethically questionable situations. Responsibility isn't just taking out the trash - it's how you deal with /people/.
