Under current law, only the distribution of the images, which can include hentai cartoons, is illegal.
Home Secretary John Reid said the British cabinet is looking for ways to ban possession of the computer-generated images in an effort to protect children from pedophiles, even though the images themselves contain no actual children.
“Computer-generated images of child abuse are often found by police stored alongside illegal material held by pedophiles,” he said. "Yet, at the moment, while it is illegal to distribute these abhorrent images, it is entirely legal to possess them.”
Reid said there is no higher purpose for government than to protect children.
John Carr of the children’s charity NCH said computer-generated images of children engaged in sexual acts were becoming more widespread.
“The fact that they are legal sends out totally the wrong message to child abusers,” he said. “Banning their possession is the only sensible way forward.
According to a report in The Register, a British newspaper, the proposed change in the law is sure pit self-expression against the interest of protecting children online.
The same report questioned whether hypersexual cartoon images featured in adult-oriented video games also might fall under the proposed ban.
