![[karma]](avatars/18429370441285674562.gif)
In the case of my sites it isn't just illegal to posess and distribute child pornography (by precedent this includes manga and furry art) and bestiality, it is illegal to import and export as well - making the rules for me as a web hoster very clear regardless of where something is legal or not; if someone from Kenya downloads kiddie porn off my servers I am still guilty of
- import - the Kenyan is actually at fault but a case can be made either way (providing an easy or encouraging means of importation etc)
- posession - the image is residing on my property
- distribution - they got the image from my site
- export - the image was sent across the federal border
regardless of what happens to Mr. Kenya or his local laws. Kappy is absolutely right: where the server is hosted determines the lowest common denominator. The next level is the users' local jurisdiction - that's not my (as the hoster) concern. If your local laws say the age of majority is 21 and you're 19 you're still breaking the law even though I only have to enforce 18 as the lower limit. The point is I'm not subject to your local laws at all, and if we were concerned about being legal in every jurisdiction we would have no site at all - let's not forget that as draconian as the times may seem we (present company) live in an extraordinarily free society relative to the developing world and even some developed nations.
Here's the kicker: recreational drug use is illegal, so is child and animal abuse. But UNLIKE DRUG USE there are restrictions on importing, exporting, posession and distribution of the "IDEAS" (quoting the criminal code) of child and animal abuse ON TOP OF THE ACT ITSELF. Ideas is expanded upon as including art, photographs, fiction and so on. High Times is not illegal. Cannabis Culture is not illegal. This site is not illegal. Art depicting drug use is every bit as legal as art depicting sex and/or violence - COMPLETELY. It is ludicrous to think that with all the drug-laden elements of modern music, television and movies in the mainstream that it is in any way illegal to post stoner art. FA is hosted in the united states and they collocate just like we do, I haven't met a colo provider yet that stipulates what you can or can not host so long as it is not spam related or the content itself is illegal in nature. A contract with their provider is the only thing that could make the push to ban drug art based in rational logic and any decent administrator would find new hosting if that were the case. It's called Freedom of Speech and you can only give up a freedom consentually (that's what a contract is).
It's the ACT that's illegal, it's the posession of the real substances that's illegal, but it is NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST BIT AGAINST THE LAW to talk about it, write about it, sing about it or draw it. You can quote me on that - I've been doing this for years and out of necessity keep a close eye on cyberlaw.