Should I believe this Yahoo Chat?

Question

I know there are plenty things that can get you in hot water on Yahoo's chat - Pedo stuff, underage chat, etc. But what I want to know is - If the people talking are two consenting adults, is it alright? I was talking to a friend of mine earlier today who said that she recieved an IM from someone in a chat room who had been talking to someone about someone's sister (who were both over 18) about incest. Well it started jokingly at first but then things actually turned sexual - As far as the person knew.

So these 2 people are well over 21, and both consenting, so although it's incest is it really that major of a crime? And besides that, should she even believe what these people are saying? Is there any real proof that people are doing what they type?

Basically what I'm asking here besides incest actually being a crime (although it's paid more attention to when a minor is involved,) has any party mentioned done anything prison-worthy?

(I want answers, not opinions.)

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

The seriousness of it depends a great deal on the culture people are from. For example, there are several countries where incest is not punished as a crime, if the participants are adults and consenting, as you described.
I doubt that a yahoo chat could be used as evidence, as there is no proof that what they typed was actually happening. It could just have been a fantasy or role playing, something that happens quite often in chat rooms. At any rate, simply typing about it is not against the law here, that would violate freedom of speech protections in the constitution.
Furthermore, if the conversation did not go to a private IM, it is less likely that it was real, as Yahoo can and occasionally does record things going on in chats, so people do not normally have the expectation that what they say there is private. What Yahoo is mostly interested in is keeping Yahoo out of trouble, so they try to regulate behavior of people in chat rooms to prevent things like luring, or other stuff they could be blamed for not preventing. But they could not be blamed for incest happening in some-body's house.
Adult consensual incest does not harm others, and is nearly impossible to prosecute anyway, so even though it can be against the law, authorities often decline to indict without hard evidence. Making a big deal out of that chat would probably only wind up being a lot more trouble than it was worth, and would serve no good purpose.

Should I believe this Yahoo Chat?

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