Amazon Halts Sale of Erotic Doll Denounced by Châteauguay Resident

This fall, online sales giant Amazon has put a halt to the sale of a juvenile-looking erotic doll which was criticized by a woman from Châteauguay. On August 24th, Donna MacDonald shared the advertisement for the masturbation product on her Facebook page. “A life-size realistic doll that looks like a little girl. This is a sex toy and the ad is very specific as to how it can be used. The description is disgusting and vile and almost condones the use of young girls for sex,” the citizen wrote. “Two major issues in our world today that will not go away any time soon, child trafficking and sexual child abuse. No child should have to endure fear and abuse of any kind. I am asking everyone to bombard Amazon with your concerns, and demand that they ‘not promote these products’, and to not condone dangerous behaviours for profit.” Her post generated over 90 comments, the vast majority of which approved of her initiative. Juvenile Pornography? Two days after Ms. MacDonald’s post, on August 26th, the Journal de Montréal reported the seizure of an erotic doll child in Saguenay. Its owner was accused of possession of juvenile pornography. The outcome of the legal proceedings is not known. The Court of Quebec, however, rendered a verdict in a similar file on June 9, 2020. Judge Jean Asselin concluded that a young-looking sex doll purchased on the Internet constituted juvenile pornography. Can the same be said for the doll on sale on Amazon’s website too? The Le Soleil de Châteauguay newspaper sent just that question to the Quebec City Police Department who had seized the item in question in that case. “Upon verification with the investigation sector that handled the file, this doll has nothing in common with the one related to the file,” indicated the SPVQ in an email dated September 21. “As for whether the product in question constitutes juvenile pornography, it would be appropriate to have everything verified by a lawyer or formulate a complaint with your local police department to validate everything,” the Quebec Police stated. The Châteauguay Police invited the newspaper to communicate with the prosecutors at the Valleyfield courthouse. Amazon’s Reaction Le Soleil de Châteauguay wrote to Amazon on September 16, asking whether it knew if the doll in question conformed with the law. “We are investigating the product,” indicated the company employee in a telephone call. She emphasized that Amazon sold millions of products and that the company imposes regulations that have to be respected. Employees monitor the site and certain products are flagged by people, she said. A few days later on September 22, the newspaper learned that the doll was “currently unavailable” on Amazon’s site. “We do not know when or if this item will be available again,” the site informed. The company’s action has delighted Donna MacDonald. “I am very pleased. That doll is disgusting. Large corporations need to stop using it to make profits,” she responded. (Translation Amanda Bennett) [caption id="attachment_92854" align="alignnone" width="820"] Amazon indique désormais que le produit n'est plus disponible.[/caption]