Underage AVs - Laws Only

I've read a few posts on here about "ageplay" and the like. Most of the discussion was about what SL rules said about it and the ethical issues surrounding it. My question, though, is what does the law say about it? I'm not concerned (in this post)about ethical arguments or SL rules because i'm aware of both of those. But, simply put:

What does the law (federal or state) say about things like SL avatars that appear underage? Can they legally engage in animated sex with avatars that look older? Can underage avatars be anatomically correct? If so, can they be presented in sexual situations?

Does anyone know?

Thanks!

PS. - Plz don't post to this thread about what your personal position is, that thread is already open. My question is strictly what does federal/state law say about it?

its legal in the US

please no more of these threads

don't smirk at me young man, i don't want SuezanneC coming after me cuz she can't spread her unique brand of joy in SL forums while she is supposed to be working!!!!

I apologize, I know it's getting annoying. I really just wanted to know specifically what the law said b/c all I could find was name calling, mud slinging, ethical arguments, blah blah... So that's why I asked only about the laws.

its legal

but not popular

I assume you know that creating an alt just to ask this question

There is no precedence man. This is all unchartered territory and we're all making it up as we go along.

SecondLife, really, is one massive legal experiment. There are so man novel things going on here .. well, that's why they get so much press.

I suspect you'd be at risk if you participated, so do yourself a favor and just stay clear.

no man, virtual is A-OK

supreme court overturned an earlier law outlawing it

the reason why kiddie porn isn't protected speech of the 1st amendment is that a child has to be abused for it to be produced

virtual or generated is OK since no crime was committed to make it happen. it is genuine free speech

so, in closing, blaze, will u be my daddy?

It may not be illegal, but if done in a PG or public area I would think that it could easily fall under "patently offensive" and abuse reportable.

There is precedence.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa041602a.htm
http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/2000/3mer/2mer/2000-0795.mer.aa.html

---

Come to Withnail Academy for Wayward Girls.
Now accepting applications for students and faculty.

Please see Mulch's comment about "overturning".

actually the first link is exactly the overturning i was referring to

the second was too long for me to read atm

*flips the light on*

It's pretty scary that people are looking to the law to determine what is acceptable public behavior.

I think we all agree on what's acceptable *public* behaviour. But it seems that there are a quite a few people that want to control the *private* behaviour of other people. That's a greater obscenity than ageplay will ever be.

I agree... that is what is scaring me.

What consenting adults do in the privacy of their own living spaces is entirely up to them. The truth is if it had been kept behind closed doors, we wouldn't be discussing this now.

I'm more worried about children roleplaying in SL as adults than adults roleplaying in SL as children.

I guess I don't see this as such a big issue, because if you spend more than a couple of minutes talking with someone I would think that their age and/or maturity level would become apparrent.

Maturity level. Has nothing at all to do with age, however.

Not really.. I have met very articulate minors, and very childish adults. I've been on the 'net longer than some peopel here have been alive, and I currently work at a job where I interact with both Minors and Adults. Someone's personality is not at all a good guage of their physical maturity. One of our regulars, at age 12, was more mature and polite than most Adults I interact with. ANd certainly more mature than many posters that have been frequenting these threads lately.

I do wish it were that easy, however. It would make things so much easier on many people. But unfortunately it is not. On this point, I agree completely with Kendra. The thought that a minor has bypassed the age checks and is playing in SL as an adult and engaging in adult activities is a far greater case for worry than what two consenting adults may come up with in this virtual medium.

If the attitudes and agruments being used in a lot of these threads were to be believed, then I would be a Genocidal Psychopath with the blood of thousands, possibly milions on my hands. For I've been playing shooters and other violent video games since video games were invented practically (First game was Combat on the Atari 2600 where I SHOT my opponents tank and destroyed it completelywith no little man running away.)

Any rational, mature adult can draw a line between fantasy and reality and can see the results of their actions if they ever crossed that line. However, comming full circle here, it's unfortunate that there are some irrational and immature adults who cannot do that. And I dont' just mean the criminals, but also those who cannot tell the difference when judging the vitual behaviour.

I am often morally outraged and disgusted by those who insist on telling me what I should be morally outraged and disgusted by.


I need to get back to my cake or pie thread, I'm getting too depressed by all this hoopla going on..

and I'd be able to build some damn fine sailboats

ToS != US laws.

Thank you for your inattention

not quite legal. it probably runs afoul of the protect act of 2003

exerpt

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:SN00885:@@@L&summ2=m&

yes there was a similar law that was repealed in 2002

the protect act of 2003 was signed in 2003

that law was overturned in 2002.

they wrote a new one in 2003.

in fact someone has been charged under the 2003 law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Whorley