RT @m_wacker@twitter.com
@SergioVengeance@twitter.com @PatHedger18@twitter.com @jess_miers@twitter.com Section 230 is the government! It's shorthand for 47 USC § 230, a law the government created.
I just want to get the government out of the way. For CSAM, section 230's intervention in the markets has produced more harm than good.
https://www.newsweek.com/repeal-section-230-child-porn-opinion-1739141
https://www.city-journal.org/the-next-frontier-for-section-230
1. Any journalist who's still using the term "child p*rn" is not fit to cover tech policy.
2. #Section230 does not preclude criminal prosecution of services that facilitate CSAM. It's literally in the statute. If we're pointing fingers, maybe start with the DOJ.
@jmiers230 I don't know if I agree with #1. Not everyone knows the term CSAM. But they do understand what CP is. And that basic understanding may be all that's necessary to effectively communicate the story (and the formal term may only obfuscate it).
@cathygellis Respectfully, strongly disagree. Language evolves. If you're an expert covering this space, use the right terminology and educate your users.
Children cannot make p*rnography. It's not a huge ask for journalists to use the appropriate terms and help their readers understand why.
@jmiers230 @cathygellis While I totally get where you're coming from, I have to agree with Cathy, here.
The term "child porn" is well established in the collective unconscious as a heinous crime and, as such, induces an immediate state of deep revulsion in the average adult. Moving to "CSAM", while technically more accurate, also feels like watering down the language. It feels like renaming "murder" laws "loss of life" laws. Doubly-so when it's just presented as an acronym people are expected to know.
In addition, the word "porn" is used for much more than "pornography" these days (i.e. "food porn"). So, I think it's flexible enough to carry the weight in describing CSAM as the actively harmful garbage it is.
(Also, side note, you don't have to self-censor yourself here, unless your instance admin has some absurd moderation policies, but even then, you can just move instances if you want.)
@LouisIngenthron @jmiers230 Jess is probably right for articles that are more technical, in which case the technical language is probably more appropriate.
My take is more "not all journalists."
Louis thank you for your thoughts here.
I defer to the child safety experts and civil society orgs steeped in this issue who thoughtfully chose the updated terminology. Pornography assumes consent, as typical of legal adult pornography. Children of course cannot consent. So, I get why experts prefer not to conflate the terms. FWIW, that's also why we now say NCEI as opposed to "revenge porn."
Cathy -- I encourage everyone to adopt CSAI / CSAM. Not just journos.
@jmiers230 @LouisIngenthron "Pornography assumes consent." I don't think this is true.
I think for certain narratives being more technically precise is important. I just don't think it's necessarily all of them.
I also disagree that not referring to it as "porn" somehow waters it down. Call it what it is, abuse.
Some resources:
https://www.rainn.org/news/what-child-sexual-abuse-material-csam
@jmiers230 @cathygellis @LouisIngenthron obligatory mention: childrescuecoaliton is garbage. I highly recommend checking out Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse and @ProstasiaInc instead
@JoshuaACasey @cathygellis @LouisIngenthron @ProstasiaInc
Thank you! Kids safety is a bit out of my lane. I appreciate any better reccs for getting smart on the topics discussed here!
@cathygellis @jmiers230 @LouisIngenthron paradox my ignorance but what does CSAM stand for?
@bucachowchow @cathygellis @jmiers230 Demonstrating exactly part of the problem. If I recall correctly, it stands for "Child Sexual Abuse Material".
@LouisIngenthron @cathygellis @jmiers230 thank you. I figured it was along those lines but hadn’t encountered the term before.
@cathygellis @LouisIngenthron @jmiers230
My very boring middle of the road take on this is that CSAM is a much better term, and in longer form pieces for folks who might not understand it, one should define it and use it. But that's not realistic for shorter form works for the general public.
@salguod @cathygellis @LouisIngenthron
Yeah I hear ya. I struggle to buy the argument though because it assumes the general public can't be educated / can't evolve their discussion of these issues. As legal experts, we can and must do what we can to elevate the discourse.
@jmiers230 @cathygellis @LouisIngenthron
Some data suggestive of why one shouldn't use the term "CSAM" without explanation in articles targeted at the general public.
@salguod @cathygellis @LouisIngenthron
💯💯💯 And to be clear, I'm all for including a one line explainer too. You need it.
@LouisIngenthron @jmiers230 Thanks, that's a lot of my thinking here.