Should pornography be regulated by criminal law
Ultimately the balance depends on one's view of whether a causal link between the consumption of pseudo- and non-photographic images and actual abuse can be made out and more importantly who should have the onus of proving such causal link. The burden of proof is on the defendant to show that: They had a legitimate reason for having the image, or That they had not seen it and did not know or suspect it to be illegal, or That it had been sent to them unsolicited and they did not keep it for an unreasonable time. The possibility of simultaneous interaction also opens up new possibilities of criminality for example criminals planning their crime in a chat room sex for free with men wearing panties child abusers grooming children on social networking sites, as discussed below. Pornography refers to material dealing with sex designed to arouse its readers or viewers. The defendant contended that under s63 3as to whether or not an image is pornographic, regard had to be had to should pornography be regulated by criminal law relevant purpose of the sender in sending the image.
