A Second Lifefor Child Pornography

Yesterday's upFront.eZine questioned the rationale of CAD vendors setting up islands in Second Life. Today's Deutsche Welle reports that German Prosecutors Pursue Child Porn in 'Second Life'.

This isn't the first sex-related controversy surrounding Second Life. In recent months, objections have been raised to the alleged "cyber-raping" of users' avatars... German law prohibits not only real, but "realistic" child porn... Linden Lab would investigate who was behind the images and pass on the information to the police.

Another case of the idiocy of the crowds, the ruining of the commons.

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Autodesk has been wanting to hold a boxing-style match between Inventor and SolidWorks. Maybe it can finally do that on its Second Life island.

CAD competitors can go beyond attacking each other through press releases and cross-over offers. On Second Life, they can literally attack each other, such as was the experience of blogger Loic Lemeur from the recent election in France:

I also launched an island in Second Life, l'ile Sarkozy, which has been an amazing experience. The island has been managed by voluntaries who created the buildings and monitored it 24 hours a day, more than 400 avatars joined a Sarkozy group and many became residents of the island. We survived attacks from opponents which were interesting to see, bombs, naked people, insults, mines dropped, weapons, demonstrations.

Comments

[Gary D'Arcy]

Ralph,

Adesk as an island!
What is different! They just need to hope their customers don't become Second Life
Members otherwise the lease of their worries would be Solid Works!

Regards Gary
www.drcauto.com

[csven]

Before upFront.eZine starts passing judgement on something about which it obviously knows very little, and referencing those who *admit* to knowing very little (and also getting *their* facts wrong while passing judgement - http://blog.rebang.com/?p=1179 ), perhaps some *worthwhile* research is in order. That is, assuming you care to actually know what you're talking about. Based on your previous post regarding UGS, I suspect you don't really care.

One less reader. Congratulations.

[R. Paul Waddington]

Lacing the gloves as we speak, who's to be my second? ;-)

[mark]

Please won't somebody think of the pixels...?

Of course in this case, those concerned had actual child porn which is indeed a terrible thing. But I find it peculiar the idea that virtual things (which, by definition, are not actual) should be treated just as bad legally as abusive acts. What next - will the German police arrest people for virtual murders in World of Warcraft? Perhaps they will serve time in a virtual prison...

The Register considered the possibility of adult role-play being criminalised in Second Life, in response to plans by the UK Government to criminalise cartoons and other non-realistic depictions ( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/13/pedo_art_illegal/ ). And on that note, how does a Second Life image pass as realistic under German law? The graphics aren't _that_ good!

I think the alleged "cyber-raping" makes the distinction clear - if the target of such an event is a non-consenting person, then it seems reasonable to consider it some form of sexual harrassment. But it's quite a leap to say that online sexual harrassment is the same as rape.

Consenting adults have of course been having "cybersex" in various forms for years, but I find it a bit odd that they could suddenly be classed as possessing or producing child pornography, if one of them uses an avator of Bart Simpson...