Well, what is "the problem"? Is it children being abused, or is it the distribution of CSAM?
And if you say both - how would you rate the relative severity of the two problems? Specifically, if you had to pick between preventing the rape of a child, and preventing N acts of CSAM distribution, how big would N have to be to make it worth choosing the latter?
I don't think they care what N is, they are just scapegoating a vile group they know will have no defenders, and they can use it to silence the critics by associating them with that group.
Bingo.
Today its the pedophiles and 15-17-philes (those are this fake group adolescent, which are also tried as adults when convenient).
Tomorrow, its the adult sex workers.
Then its the fringe group's topics that is on the outs with the majority.
Then they come for you, and nobody is able to speak up because they banned protests.
... To paraphrase Martin Niemoller.
> Well, what is "the problem"? Is it children being abused, or is it the distribution of CSAM?
It seems obvious that it is entirely the former and not at all the latter. In other words, N is positive infinity. Am I missing something?
I only care about kids being hurt. And I think this view is close to consensus.
Ask anyone you know who has been sexually assaulted or raped what they think of the idea of pictures or recordings of that being both kept by the perpetrator and widely disseminated. I think you'll find very few who'd say that's totally fine. But given that there can be no CSAM without child abuse, the direct physical abuse is clearly the primary problem.
What do you think it would be for you?
What's worse for you? Being raped as a child. Or, having people sexually gratify themselves looking at images of you being abused; using those images to groom other children, or to trade and encourage the rape of other children?
You might as well ask someone which eye they prefer to have gouged out with a blunt screw.
Let's do both: try to stop child sexual abuse and try to stop images of abused children being used by abusers.