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NEWS: CBLDF Streams Documentary Short About Ryan Matheson Case


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Hawkwing



Joined: 24 Apr 2011
Posts: 317
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 5:06 pm Reply with quote
I feel sorry for this guy, it's sad when there's no respect for someones integrity.
I can't believe that they arrested him for possessing images of naked fictional characters. There's nothing wrong with it!
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14746
PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 8:06 pm Reply with quote
It's not as noteworthy as the Tokyo Youth Bill.
But glad that our contributions are put to good use.
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revolutionotaku



Joined: 19 May 2011
Posts: 881
PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 9:36 pm Reply with quote
I helped the CBLDF with this case.
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jojothepunisher



Joined: 04 Sep 2007
Posts: 799
PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 10:05 pm Reply with quote
revolutionotaku wrote:
I helped the CBLDF with this case.


If helped Ryan in this case, then props to you man. I could feel how traumatized Ryan was just by watching him talk.

Personally, I wouldn't walk around with a computer full of anime pornography just to prevent myself from getting embarrased, but throwing him in jail and throwing out those harmless anime products was just something.

The one thing I was surprised about was the mentioning of how security guards at the boarder were actually trained in "recognizing anime pornography". Didn't think that anime was that significant to warrant its own search category.
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revolutionotaku



Joined: 19 May 2011
Posts: 881
PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 10:32 pm Reply with quote
jojothepunisher wrote:
revolutionotaku wrote:
I helped the CBLDF with this case.


If helped Ryan in this case, then props to you man. I could feel how traumatized Ryan was just by watching him talk.

Personally, I wouldn't walk around with a computer full of anime pornography just to prevent myself from getting embarrased, but throwing him in jail and throwing out those harmless anime products was just something.

The one thing I was surprised about was the mentioning of how security guards at the boarder were actually trained in "recognizing anime pornography". Didn't think that anime was that significant to warrant its own search category.


I decided to help Ryan my becoming a member of the CBLDF in January of 2012.
When the news of Ryan's release was announced, I felt very proud that I've done something in his need of help.
I even got a chance to meet Ryan at New York Comic Con.
He's a really nice guy in person.
I still to this day help support the CBLDF & Ryan.


Last edited by revolutionotaku on Tue Apr 02, 2013 10:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Chagen46



Joined: 27 Jun 2010
Posts: 4377
PostPosted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 10:34 pm Reply with quote
Shit like this worries me severely. Goes to show how the law can eff you raw for perfectly innocuous things.

I'm definitely never taking any computer of mine on a plane trip. I have too much shota yaoi. I can live without it for a week or two.
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hikaru004



Joined: 15 Mar 2004
Posts: 2306
PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 12:22 am Reply with quote
Well, it's better to be an informed traveler and check what the host country allows in before leaving your country and plan accordingly. Canada doesn't allow a lot stuff in that you'd think would go thru customs and they state it on their website.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/ifvc-rpvc-eng.html
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Greboruri



Joined: 09 Jul 2003
Posts: 373
Location: QBN, NSW, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 1:51 am Reply with quote
hikaru004 wrote:
Well, it's better to be an informed traveler and check what the host country allows in before leaving your country and plan accordingly. Canada doesn't allow a lot stuff in that you'd think would go thru customs and they state it on their website.

There's not even a hint on that website that the material Matheson brought in would be problematic. A four hour search on his laptop? That's a fishing expedition.
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hikaru004



Joined: 15 Mar 2004
Posts: 2306
PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:45 am Reply with quote
Greboruri wrote:
hikaru004 wrote:
Well, it's better to be an informed traveler and check what the host country allows in before leaving your country and plan accordingly. Canada doesn't allow a lot stuff in that you'd think would go thru customs and they state it on their website.

There's not even a hint on that website that the material Matheson brought in would be problematic. A four hour search on his laptop? That's a fishing expedition.


Yes, there is. Look in the "prohibited goods section". No, it's not a fishing expedition.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5082-eng.html#s6x8

And if you didn't know what the legal definition of "child pornography" was in Canada, then you do a search and you find this...

http://www.efc.ca/pages/law/cc/cc.163.1.html

And it only takes less than 5 minutes of searching on the internet to do.
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Chagen46



Joined: 27 Jun 2010
Posts: 4377
PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 10:27 am Reply with quote
Thank God Canada's a boring place no one would want to visit.

The part that pisses me off the most is that they can just force you to surrender your computer. In a free civilized society, that's just plain extortion and ethically abhorrent. People have a right to privacy and to just trample all over that in the name of "stopping evil people" to pacify the religious/social conservatives that run the government is pathetic.

When Fascism comes to America (substitute "America" for Canada), it'll come wrapped in a flag and a bible. Even the first world has its ugly underside.
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Greboruri



Joined: 09 Jul 2003
Posts: 373
Location: QBN, NSW, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 2:52 pm Reply with quote
hikaru004 wrote:
Yes, there is. Look in the "prohibited goods section".

What you don’t seem to understand is that the material Matheson brought it wasn’t child pornography. I’m just wondering how “The 48 Positions: Moe Style” is considered child pornography under Canadian law. Would agree with the customs officers that it depicted four year olds having sex? Plus “obscene material”, how broad is that description? It's really unclear.

hikaru004 wrote:
No, it's not a fishing expedition.

When you’re a customs officer searching a laptop for four hours for child porn based off nothing more than the fact the guy an anime wallpaper on his screen, well what else can you call that except a fishing expedition?
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hikaru004



Joined: 15 Mar 2004
Posts: 2306
PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 4:38 pm Reply with quote
Greboruri wrote:
hikaru004 wrote:
Yes, there is. Look in the "prohibited goods section".

What you don’t seem to understand is that the material Matheson brought it wasn’t child pornography. I’m just wondering how “The 48 Positions: Moe Style” is considered child pornography under Canadian law. Would agree with the customs officers that it depicted four year olds having sex? Plus “obscene material”, how broad is that description? It's really unclear.


Obscenity is usually decided by the destination that raised the concerns. It's the same in US. If you're familiar with this, then you leave the questionable stuff at home. If you are suspecting that "moe style" might confuse the officer into thinking that it's little kids, then leave it home. If it confuses the officer, imagine what it could do to a kid that's being "groomed" to do this stuff.

Greboruri wrote:

hikaru004 wrote:
No, it's not a fishing expedition.

When you’re a customs officer searching a laptop for four hours for child porn based off nothing more than the fact the guy an anime wallpaper on his screen, well what else can you call that except a fishing expedition?


Being very thorough for someone who probably wasn't specializing in IT as well as law enforcement. Maybe if something worse was on the computer, he would have been shipped to a more secure location than where he eventually landed.
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Greboruri



Joined: 09 Jul 2003
Posts: 373
Location: QBN, NSW, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 6:14 pm Reply with quote
hikaru004 wrote:
If you're familiar with this, then you leave the questionable stuff at home. If you are suspecting that "moe style" might confuse the officer into thinking that it's little kids, then leave it home.

The problem is (which you seem to be ignoring) is that Canadian Customs guidelines and the relevant legislation is at best unclear. Remember in the video that officers threw away his Megami magazine and what seemed to be described as a cloth of some kind with characters from “A Certain Magical Index” on it. While I admit that certain images in Megami magazine are risqué, there is no way in hell either fall into the category of child porn, no matter how broad the definition. The whole point is there is NOTHING on the Canadian Customs website that clearly shows the material he took into the country would cause him to be arrested.

hikaru004 wrote:
If it confuses the officer, imagine what it could do to a kid that's being "groomed" to do this stuff.

Um, so now we’re in the realm of imaginary crimes? Name a case, any case, where a paedophile has groomed a child using similar material that Matheson had. What, there’s none? Let’s stay firmly grounded in reality then.

hikaru004 wrote:
Being very thorough for someone who probably wasn't specializing in IT as well as law enforcement. Maybe if something worse was on the computer, he would have been shipped to a more secure location than where he eventually landed.

It’s got nothing to do wether the officer had sufficient IT skills or not. The problem is profiling passengers as potential paedophiles based upon the fact that they have anime/manga merchandise on their person or imagery on their laptop. The problem is that customs officers are apparently being trained to target people with that material. It is a fishing expedition.
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hikaru004



Joined: 15 Mar 2004
Posts: 2306
PostPosted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 10:53 pm Reply with quote
Greboruri wrote:
hikaru004 wrote:
If you're familiar with this, then you leave the questionable stuff at home. If you are suspecting that "moe style" might confuse the officer into thinking that it's little kids, then leave it home.

The problem is (which you seem to be ignoring) is that Canadian Customs guidelines and the relevant legislation is at best unclear. Remember in the video that officers threw away his Megami magazine and what seemed to be described as a cloth of some kind with characters from “A Certain Magical Index” on it. While I admit that certain images in Megami magazine are risqué, there is no way in hell either fall into the category of child porn, no matter how broad the definition. The whole point is there is NOTHING on the Canadian Customs website that clearly shows the material he took into the country would cause him to be arrested.

hikaru004 wrote:
If it confuses the officer, imagine what it could do to a kid that's being "groomed" to do this stuff.

Um, so now we’re in the realm of imaginary crimes? Name a case, any case, where a paedophile has groomed a child using similar material that Matheson had. What, there’s none? Let’s stay firmly grounded in reality then.

hikaru004 wrote:
Being very thorough for someone who probably wasn't specializing in IT as well as law enforcement. Maybe if something worse was on the computer, he would have been shipped to a more secure location than where he eventually landed.

It’s got nothing to do wether the officer had sufficient IT skills or not. The problem is profiling passengers as potential paedophiles based upon the fact that they have anime/manga merchandise on their person or imagery on their laptop. The problem is that customs officers are apparently being trained to target people with that material. It is a fishing expedition.


I actually laughed at the Megami reference because the pics that make it on some forums do show those young looking girls in sexually suggestive positions. And that Index pic emphasized more the chest on the second girl so that officer would have had an issue with that cloth.

We can agree to disagree because we view the website differently. I see a website that uses the "obscene" and "child pornography" in the same sentence. With all the warnings that CBLDF has been giving regarding manga etc in other countries and with issues that people had in this one, a little extra precaution is suppose to be taken.

If you know that you are going to be spending extra time being searched because something peaks the interest of border control, you don't bring it to that country. It's the law of averages that border control will find something to hang you on the longer you're searched. It's not like he was the first one to be caught at the border. See link below for another case (earliest in link was from 2006).

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/05/17/comic-books-canada-customs/ (CBLDF advisory link is on this site)
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Greboruri



Joined: 09 Jul 2003
Posts: 373
Location: QBN, NSW, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 1:27 am Reply with quote
hikaru004 wrote:
We can agree to disagree because we view the website differently. I see a website that uses the "obscene" and "child pornography" in the same sentence.

And yet again, nothing he had on him was either. The website is unclear. It is vague. What is “obscene” anyway?

hikaru004 wrote:
And that Index pic emphasized more the chest on the second girl so that officer would have had an issue with that cloth.

You must be joking. That’s something you’d expect going into Saudi Arabia, not Canada.

hikaru004 wrote:
With all the warnings that CBLDF has been giving regarding manga etc in other countries and with issues that people had in this one, a little extra precaution is suppose to be taken.

When people travel overseas they’ll look at government travel websites, Wikitravel etc. But CBLDF? Come on now.

hikaru004 wrote:
If you know that you are going to be spending extra time being searched because something peaks the interest of border control, you don't bring it to that country. It's the law of averages that border control will find something to hang you on the longer you're searched.

And yet you don’t think he was unfairly targeted and the customs officers were rather overzealous? Remember that the charges were dropped. Also I can’t believe you previously said it wasn’t a fishing expedition, and then turn around and say “It's the law of averages that border control will find something to hang you on the longer you're searched”. Seriously.
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