FC: Dave Touretzky on consequences of "morphed" kiddie porn ruling

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Note that as previously discussed 
(http://www.politechbot.com/p-03401.html), there were four sections of the 
federal child porn definition, parts A to D. Since only (B) and (D) were 
challenged in this case, the Supreme Court could not rule on (A) and (C) 
and left them intact.

(A) involves visual depictions where a real minor is involved. (C) bans 
visual depictions that have "been created, adapted, or modified to appear 
that an identifiable minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct."

Previous Politech message:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-03403.html

-Declan

---

From: Dave_Touretzky () cs cmu edu
To: declan () well com
Subject: unintended fallout of ruling on depictions of identifiable minors
Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 05:46:45 -0400

Declan,

Here are some interesting consequences of the court's upholding ban on
depiction of identifiable minors in sexual activities:

1) Using Photoshop to put person A's face on porn star B's body, even
if done as a crude joke for the amusement of a few friends, is a
felony if person A is under 18.

2) Actors cannot depict even fictional minors engaging in simulated
sexual activities if the actor is himself/herself under 18, because
the ACTOR is an identifiable minor.  So the next remake of Lolita
might have to employ an 18 year old for the title role.

3) A made-for-TV movie about a real instance of a minor engaging in
sexual activity (e.g., the story of Mary Kay Letourneau, the high
school teacher who was twice impregnated by her teenage lover) could
run afoul of the law, even if the actor playing the part of the boy
(an identifiable minor) were an adult.

-- Dave




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