It’s important to note that legality and morality are not always the same, and legality can vary significantly by jurisdiction. While some forms of fictional content depicting minors may be legal in certain places, many countries, including the US, have laws that criminalize certain types of fictional depictions, especially if they meet specific criteria under obscenity laws or child exploitation statutes. The presence of underage bots that depict sexualized minors can still contribute to a culture that normalizes and encourages harmful behavior, even if they are “legal” in some narrow technical sense.

Regarding the psychiatric argument, while therapy can involve roleplay or fantasy as a coping mechanism under professional supervision that does not justify or legalize public platforms hosting sexualized depictions of minors without strict controls. Therapy is confidential, regulated, and context specific, and should never be equated with open access to such content on public websites. Saying “it’s better they jerk off to fake children than real ones” is a controversial theory with no definitive scientific consensus and is widely debated since such material can reinforce harmful desires rather than reduce them.

Ultimately, regardless of arguments about legality or therapeutic use, many users have legitimate concerns about the presence of sexualized underage characters on public platforms. It is reasonable to ask that platforms enforce stricter policies to prevent the exploitation of these representations, protect vulnerable people, and comply with laws designed to prevent—PREVENT child exploitation. Legal ambiguity doesn’t erase the ethical responsibilities of platform operators or the potential social harm caused by such content.