Making images simply means that you have received a digital transmission of a series of 0 and 1s and then that code has appeared in the form of an image on your device. You don't have to click on that image, to download it etc, on WhatsApp it is just there. But that is classed as you making an illegal image.
What a lot of people don't realise is that anybody could send you a horrific illegal image if they washed to and had one to hand or actually created one. Then you get a notification and look and it's yours and you have "made " it just by opening your phone. Even though you didn't expect it. Our request it
Now ( and this is where the lack of critical thinkers struggle as they are too busy salivating while baying for blood with pitchforks).
You can go to the police and report it and they will take your device and destroy it. Because it's got an illegal image on it. You don't get those back. But they could also go through that device and find porn. Or something questionable that triggers them coming and taking away every single device in your home. You could be arrested for making that image, and bailed until a later time. What if you are a teacher? Or a nurse? Or run a kids home? You have to tell your safe guard lead. Are you then suspended? What happens when you explain to people that you didn't ASK for this, it just happened. Do you think people will believe you? That is a giant mistake and you are going the right thing Co operating? That's literally what the actual criminals say when people find out before it's fine to court.
A police officer was charged with having made illegal images after a family member forwarded them directly to "investigate " instead of reporting it officially. They were convicted of it if I remember rightly.
What this country needs is a distinction between
-Receiving images unsolicited and reporting it ( with protection)
-Receiving images and not reporting it/just deleting them
-Receiving images and keeping them
-Receiving images and forwarding them
-Producing and distributing images to others.
In Mumsnet there is such a lack of understanding that people think the bottom 4 of these are exactly the same crime and as equally as bad and they are not. A person that documents horrific child abused and sends these to other people causes first degree harm. This is not the same level as somebody sending you an image and you deleting it and choosing not to report it as you fear the repercussions and disruption to your life.
An image can also be a drawing. An image of anime human /dog anthropomorphised hybrids having sex can be classed as bestiality despite it being a clear cartoon. Anime figures wearing school uniforms automatically qualify it as child abuse images due to the significance of the uniform indicating age. People, especially teens, don't realise this.
People also don't realise that this behaviour is an ever worsening epidemic and the police and agencies can't even scratch the surface. It's all linked to not just paedophilia but porn addiction. Like all addictions they start off innocently enough and escalate horrifically. Not all people that are arrested for this stuff are true paedophiles, a huge chunk are just over entitled opportunistic vultures that think they can get away with it and need more extreme stuff to get off too.