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Prosecution of downloading pedo material is as close as it gets to thought-crime.

Similar to how downloading some else's bank account into yours is practically thought-crime?

"But officer, I was only shuffling bits!" isn't a defense.

I don't see how robbing someones bank account is comparable to downloading outlawed pornography.

Hoarding illegal material is a crime (and not a thought crime.) We call it 'recel' in French. Not sure what is the legal term in English, 'fencing' is argotic, right?

Possessing illegal bits is kind of a basic example of thought crime.

Right, that's what I'm saying about the bank account. If child pornography really is just bits, then the same should go for your bank account. When you "illegally" increase your bank account it's just bits, right?

Or how about classified information. Is it thought crime to have classified information you aren't allowed to have? "But it's only bits, how can bits be illegal?"

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