Abstract

AbstractThis chapter argues that certain current tendencies in the area of virtual child pornography and self-generated sexual images and videos might disregard fundamental principles of criminal law, such as the harm principle and the ultima ratio canon. In particular, the criminalization of fully virtual child pornography, created without resorting to depictions of existing minors, runs the risk of legitimizing punishment of an individual before any harmful act has actually been committed. The increasing proliferation of self-generated material, where minors freely create pornographic content depicting themselves, also calls for a critical revision of criminal provisions. In fact, the issue has increasingly been the focus of international soft law, calling on states to reconcile protection measures with the recognition of children’s agency. By providing recent examples from Italy, this chapter offers a critical analysis of ongoing trends in Europe and advocates a stricter adherence to the fundamental principles of criminal law.

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