One could ask why underage pornography is illegal while this isn't. In both cases someone suffers and the act being recorded is in itself illegal, plus the video is viewed for amusement/pleasure of the viewer most of the time.
It's a touchy distinction (as any intent charge is), but it makes a certain amount of sense - one major reason for criminalizing content is to reduce demand and thereby hopefully prevent further production. Recording an accident or unrelated act of violence presumably doesn't create any incentive for more violence.
>Recording an accident or unrelated act of violence presumably doesn't create any incentive for more violence.
Getting visitors for your gore site is pretty good incentive for more violence and more extreme content. Same with selling of early non-web based content like the Faces of Death series.
Please don’t be too concerned with people possessing things which do not exist. There are no snuff films.
Actually, there are no such films. I’m not saying someone could not, in theory, create one – I’m saying that, to my understanding, no such films have ever been shown to actually exist. Be careful with what you assume.