[throwaway55553]

There's an even better idea: forget about people looking at pixels on the screen and focus on the real world.

Why spend the limited law enforcement budget on giving officers a cushy job of catching people for the crime of using a computer, when the same limited budget can be spent on catching those who actually hurt others?

[derektank]

Demand for CSAM creates incentives for people to actually hurt others. Same reason we ban the sale of ivory.

[TurdF3rguson]

It's not a good argument. Sale of ivory creates demand because it's a sale.

We could make it illegal to view images of ivory (with the logic that this might lead to a sale), but most people would consider that a step too far.

[nozzlegear]

Viewing images of ivory is not harming an elephant, though. With CSAM, the image is the abuse – you'd be viewing the actual harm event. So consuming CSAM is more like purchasing the ivory yourself.

[throwaway55553]

What incentives do people have to pay? Scarcity. Which, in the era when anyone willing can just generate any questionable imagery, is no longer that scarce.

The less resources are directed towards capturing people for having bad files on their PCs, the more resources are freed up for actively persecuting any commercial operations and doing the actual field work.

[Saline9515]

While I don't support Chatcontrol and the likes, paraphilias can be induced by watching pictures of sexual acts. Just like one does not come to life with a latex fetish, one can become a pedo.