American faces jail time for bringing manga to Canada on his laptop

Emil

Posts: 152   +0

An American citizen is facing criminal charges in Canada that could result in a mandatory minimum prison sentence of one year for comics brought into the country on his laptop. The computer programmer, whose name is being withheld, is a comic book enthusiast in his mid-twenties who was flying from his home in the US to Canada to visit a friend.

Upon arrival at Canadian Customs, a customs officer conducted a search of the American and his personal belongings, including his laptop, iPad, and iPhone. The customs officer discovered manga on the laptop and declared that it was child pornography.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBDLF) has announced that it is forming a coalition to support the man's legal defense. The CBLDF has agreed to assist in the case by contributing funds towards the defense, which has been estimated to cost $150,000 CAD ($151,000 USD). The CBLDF will also provide access to experts and assistance on legal strategy.

The CBLDF says it has noticed a trend in these types of stories: search and seizure of print and electronic comic books carried by travelers crossing borders. The group does note, however, that this is the most serious incident so far. Its efforts are joined by the recently re-formed Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund, a Canadian organization that will contribute to the fundraising effort.

You can also help out by making a tax deductible contribution. Choose if you want to donate $10, $20, $50, $100, or $500 over at cbldf.myshopify.com/products/canadian-customs-case.

"Although the CBLDF can't protect comic fans everywhere in every situation, we want to join this effort to protect an American comic fan being prosecuted literally as he stood on the border of our country for behavior the First Amendment protects here, and its analogues in Canadian law should protect there," CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein said in a statement. "This is an important case that impacts the rights of everyone who reads, publishes, and makes comics and manga in North America. It underscores the dangers facing everyone traveling with comics, and it can establish important precedents regarding travelers rights. It also relates to the increasingly urgent issue of authorities prosecuting art as child pornography. While this case won’t set a US precedent, it can inform whatever precedent is eventually set. This case is also important with respect to artistic merit in the Canadian courts, and a good decision could bring Canadian law closer to US law in that respect."

Permalink to story.

 
Well, regardless of how objectionable the content was, I don't see how you can toss in line drawings in the same barrel as actual photographic records of the sexual assault of a minor. Still, the man should have know better than to have potentially incriminating materials on his computer when going through airport security.
 
How is it legal to search someones laptop or phone or any other electronic device with out a warrant or due cause? Even if your entering another country?
 
Uh oh, better not bring any violent videogames with me if I head to Canada. They might think I'm actually a post-apocalyptic vault survivor that goes around mutilating people, or a rogue super spy about to start WWIII, or a psychotic driver that runs over people!

People seriously need to get over this victimless crime crap. You're going to send someone to jail because of their tastes, however awkward they may be? Shall we also send them to jail for not liking Canadian Bacon? Or Maple Syrup?
 
There legally allowed to turn on your laptop and go through your stuff? Guess i'm never going to Canada...like I was anyway haha
 
I'm hoping they had a valid reason to go through his laptop - maybe he was on some sex offender database.
 
Thought only US border agents pulled this stuff.

Pretty short on details...even over at the CBDLF link...

Anyone know what the manga in question was?
 
The country with no gay rights and the patriot act is in no position to bad talk another country dickwads.

There legally allowed to turn on your laptop and go through your stuff? Guess i'm never going to Canada...like I was anyway haha

They don't unless you're a registered Criminal. Also you realize that the privacy in the US where he lives is far worse than what we have in Canada. You guys are so uneducated and so unaware of anything outside of glorious America it's not even funny.

Again. Which country was it where they had the patriot act? Which country has little to no gay rights in the majority of its states. Don't even bother trying to act like Canada is so god damn backwards.
 
The CBDLF page is hilarious, with its "insert link to news story", "insert advisory link", etc. Insert them already. It will make the page more useful.

@Princeton, the US said nothing here. Individuals, on the other hand, are certainly in a position to say what they way, and they probably hate their own country's practices. Being able to cite a worse example in no way makes you own country's bad behaviour better.
 
ET3D said:
The CBDLF page is hilarious, with its "insert link to news story", "insert advisory link", etc. Insert them already. It will make the page more useful.

@Princeton, the US said nothing here. Individuals, on the other hand, are certainly in a position to say what they way, and they probably hate their own country's practices. Being able to cite a worse example in no way makes you own country's bad behaviour better.

Except this isn't a worse example and many of them living in the US are saying "durp a durr I guess I won't go to Canadia because they haz teh privacy ishuez!!1!"

Also I'm going to assume you're Canadian by how you spelled Behavio(u)r.

EDIT: God that article picture is ****ing creepy. It stares into your soul bro!
 
stewi0001 said:
ofcourse we still dont know what kind of magna though...

Well even lolicon shouldn't be considered child porn. If anything it satisfies pedos so they don't use actual child pornography.
 
Princeton said:
stewi0001 said:
ofcourse we still dont know what kind of magna though...

Well even lolicon shouldn't be considered child porn. If anything it satisfies pedos so they don't use actual child pornography.

true. If it was porn in general I guess it would be termed hentai or something of that nature
 
Wow.. Princeton. Basically you're saying The US is backward compared to Canada because Canada has better gay rights?
Just.. wow.

Also, a person who believes Manga to be 'child porn' is a retard, no matter which country he/she is from. I mean, who's the victim here? What has the Canadian customs achieved out of this (aside from all the publicity)?
 
Guest said:
Wow.. Princeton. Basically you're saying The US is backward compared to Canada because Canada has better gay rights?
Just.. wow.

Also, a person who believes Manga to be 'child porn' is a retard, no matter which country he/she is from. I mean, who's the victim here? What has the Canadian customs achieved out of this (aside from all the publicity)?

No. I'm saying when you guys have no gay rights and the government can use the patriot act to commit whatever they want on the grounds that you could be a threat the commenters from the US here have no right to be criticizing us like we're some sort of second class nation.

By the way the article is biased. There's a complete lack of proper info and the term manga is used improperly. We don't arrest for that. I don't agree with it but they do arrest for possessing lolicon as for some reason the courts consider that child pornography. There's no such thing as a victimless crime.

In other news an intriguing correlation was found between anonymous posters on websites and the usage of straw man arguments. *wink wink*
 
The entire reason for this sort of nonsense is to provide fodder for the prison system. We can't have a world wide first world police state unless we fill up the prisons can we? And let's face it criminality is what ever those in power say it is. More and more we see fascism making any thing it wants a crime regardless of whether it makes any sense. And the best part is when the law defines some thing as happened even when it didn't.

Common law marriage. "Hey my gf can't divorce me and take all my stuff. We never got married. I would have remembered something like that."
"Yes you did. You lived together for 7 years so by law you are married. Bend over."

Statutory rape. "I didn't rape that 17 year old girl. She gave her consent. She has been with half the guys in town."
"Yes you did. She was under 18 so we say it was rape. Bend over.

Teen age sexting. "Hey I'm a 14 year old girl and I foolishly sent a picture of my tits to my 15 year old bf."
"You are now a sex offender we will see you and your parents in court. They do have a bank account don't they? Bend over."

Comic book manga. "Hey those are just drawings. It isn't kiddy porn. It's not even realistic. No child was photographed or exploited or even involved."
"We don't care. It vaguely reminds us of kiddy porn so we say it is. Bend over."

And so it goes in Nazi North America. Keep your powder dry folks. I hope to God the day comes when we get to use it.
 
Guest said:
The entire reason for this sort of nonsense is to provide fodder for the prison system. We can't have a world wide first world police state unless we fill up the prisons can we? And let's face it criminality is what ever those in power say it is. More and more we see fascism making any thing it wants a crime regardless of whether it makes any sense. And the best part is when the law defines some thing as happened even when it didn't.

Common law marriage. "Hey my gf can't divorce me and take all my stuff. We never got married. I would have remembered something like that."
"Yes you did. You lived together for 7 years so by law you are married. Bend over."

Statutory rape. "I didn't rape that 17 year old girl. She gave her consent. She has been with half the guys in town."
"Yes you did. She was under 18 so we say it was rape. Bend over.

Teen age sexting. "Hey I'm a 14 year old girl and I foolishly sent a picture of my tits to my 15 year old bf."
"You are now a sex offender we will see you and your parents in court. They do have a bank account don't they? Bend over."

Comic book manga. "Hey those are just drawings. It isn't kiddy porn. It's not even realistic. No child was photographed or exploited or even involved."
"We don't care. It vaguely reminds us of kiddy porn so we say it is. Bend over."

And so it goes in Nazi North America. Keep your powder dry folks. I hope to God the day comes when we get to use it.

I feel bad because even though the last part about us being Nazi like is extreme I can't argue with the rest of it. We have some pretty crazy laws in the US/Canada.
 
What saddens me is it seems that all countries be they North American, European, etc .. seem to be moving towards this Nanny state where feel it is better to control the population and save us from ourselves.

When I 1st read 1984 way back when, yes I am old, I thought it as fiction but now I see George Orwell as a clairvoyant and it sickens me to no end.
 
This is absurd, has to be one of the dumbest things Ive ever read in my life. What the hell is the world coming to when a man can't have manga on his laptop. Even if it was hentai, it still cant be considered child pornography, its all animated.
 
I have a hard time believing this is going to go anywhere at all in courts, probably just Air Canada messing up again. Has this even been to court yet?

Oh and all that homo/gay talk is kinda rediculous way off topic, where not trying to burn anyone at the stake here, just wrongly acusing and ruining a mans life here. But seriously the US can't talk trash about our laws and I'm leaving it at that.
 
Dullard American's slamming Canada when they don't even know their owns laws, Perhaps you should look up the ' Amber Alert law's' in particular Section 1466A - 'Obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children'. In the US there is already someone in jail for 20 YEARS for obscene Anime downloading. Which is FAR more aggressive in nature then the potential deportation and slap on the wrist this person faces.

You dumb asses seem to think America has this grand libertarian state, in reality if you had any sort of World centric view that wasn't ' you suck because your not American' then you'd realize that your living in a virtual police state with the likes of Homeland Security and the Patriot act controlling and watching your lives.

..and apparently you don't even realize that the Japan has even started to ban this form of Anime


***** about Canada all you want, I can't hear you over my free health care...
 
This is a little disturbing. What reason did they have to look at the contents of his laptop? I thought that the extent of what they could do is verify that the device isn't hiding any weaponry or anything else dangerous - not examine the software on the laptop...... I mean, really?

i know for a fact that no international business person would stand for such a thing.

I cannot believe that we live in a world where cartoons are called child porn. FFS can people stop being complete ******?
 
Adhmuz said:
But seriously the US can't talk trash about our laws and I'm leaving it at that.

We can, you can and we all should. We are more a global community now more than ever what shouldn't happen is people getting defensive about their country. All laws that are preposterous should be vilified discussed and ridiculed.

Please remember that unfortunately laws do not represent the will of the people and although we live under such laws it does not mean we like or agree with them. So for an American to get upset over a canadian law or vice versa Canadian getting upset over American laws is acceptable and should be encouraged.

I for one don't want to live under such laws and I don't want to know that people live that way either. And I personally applaud anyone from any country that hates such inane laws no matter their country of origin.
 
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