House Bans Child Sex Robots - As Legal Expert Suggested

WASHINGTON - June 14, 2018 - PRLog -- The U.S. House just overwhelmingly approved a ban on the importation and trafficking of anatomically correct child sex dolls and robots that "normalize sex between adults and minors."

        Such a ban has long been called for by public interest law professor John Banzhaf, who first publicized the many dangers sex robots pose more than a year ago.

        Sex robots [sexbots], already so realistic that they are favored over human prostitutes by many customers visiting conventional brothels, now are coming to the U.S. where they might be bought outright or used by the hour at cyber brothels, since their use is apparently limited in only one state, says Banzhaf.

       Now it appears the U.S. will join the U.K. in banning lifelike child sex robots.

        Banzhaf and others have expressed concern that such lifelike sexbots can serve as a stepping stone towards actual child rape by permitting those who are unsure about the desires to try them out, perhaps on a per-hour basis at a local and perfectly legal cyber brothel.

        As the Foundation for Responsible Robots suggests, these sex dolls "could be more like a gateway drug."  It has also been suggested that the unchecked availability of such child sexbots could shift society's norms to make pedophilia more socially acceptable.

        As the Stop Abuse Campaign puts it, "these child sex dolls can normalize a pedophile's behaviors, emboldening them to harm children, as is often the case with those who view child pornography."

        Congressman Dan Donovan [R-NY] introduced the House-passed bill known as the Curbing Realistic Exploitative Electronic Pedophilic Robots (CREEPER) Act after he learned that these sexbots were coming into the U.S., and that the UK had already banned their possession or production.

        Banzhaf has been calling for Congress to take action on this issue for years, including appearances on major TV programs and at a major conference in Europe, as well as in conventional media.

        While some have suggested that the child sex dolls might be used to treat known pedophiles, and might perhaps be used to permit them to satisfy their urges in a way which doesn't endanger a child, the evidence to support this is sparse.

        "Today anyone can buy a dozen or more sexbots - including those designed to look and behave like young children - and rent them out for use by the hour in a cyber brothel; a venture which appears to be legal in most states because it does not involve humans offering sex for sale," says Banzhaf.

        Potential perverts, young curious college students, and others could see if they enjoy having sex with children for a nominal per-hour rate, with perhaps disastrous consequences, warns Banzhaf.

JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D.
Professor of Public Interest Law
George Washington University Law School,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
Fellow, World Technology Network,
Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH),
2000 H Street, NW, Wash, DC 20052, USA
(202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418
http://banzhaf.net/  jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com  @profbanzhaf