Child Porn Online: The Pedophiles' Term Paper

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("Supreme Court Rejects..." 2002) More constitutional problems have been encountered in the law's battle against child pornography as a federal court in September 2004 outlawed a Pennsylvania State law that required internet service providers (ISPs) to block websites containing child pornography. The Court considered the technology used in the blocking of such sites as clumsy that could cause "massive suppression" of constitutionally protected speech.

Apart from conducting a legal "balancing act" between the protection of children from sexual exploitation against the protection of free speech and free thought by the law makers, the campaign against child porn on the Internet is also hampered by its "borderless" characteristics. In order to counter differences in porn laws of different countries that prevented prosecution of child porn offenders, the United Nations General Assembly adopted an Optional Protocol on the Rights of the Child, on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography on May 25, 2000. The protocol, which has been signed or ratified by almost all UN member countries, seeks to protect children from commercial sexual exploitation by laying special emphasis on the criminalization of serious violations of children's rights such as sale of children, illegal adoption, child prostitution and pornography. ("Optional Protocols..." 2002) as signatories to the protocol, member countries are committed to contribute in the fight against child porn. As a result, several criminal networks and individuals engaged in the production and distribution of such material have been busted and according to law enforcement data, about 90% of international investigative commissions, issued by Interpol, are related to Internet child porn crimes. (Saytarly, 2004)

Despite this limited success, the nature of child porn crimes on the Internet present complex new challenges for law enforcement agencies in connection with investigating crimes, collecting evidence, identifying and apprehending offenders, and assisting child victims. These difficulties are mainly due to the reason that the victims and the criminals often live in separate geographical locations, and the victims are usually reluctant to come forward and identify the offenders. At times, the child victims even deny that any crime has been committed against them. ("Internet Crimes against Children," 2001)

Role Parents Can Play in Protecting their Children

Parents have the biggest responsibility in protecting their children from online predators and pedophiles. Just as in other areas of life, the parents have to lend a helping hand to their children about how to use the Internet appropriately and provide them with safety tips. It is important for parents to be open and frank with their children about sexual victimization and potential online dangers and tell them about the rules of safe online behavior such as:

Never giving out their names, telephone numbers, address or school name to strangers on the Internet

Never arranging face-to-face meetings with people they meet online.

It is important to place the computer in a common area of the house instead of in a child's bedroom and making the computer and the Internet a family activity by spending time with the children online in order to monitor their favorite web destinations.

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It also helps if the parents maintain access to their children's online account and randomly check their mail, files and disks, and are frank and upfront about why they are doing so. Use of filters to block inappropriate web sites can also be considered. Information about the downloading and use of filters is available on various sites on the Internet. It is also prudent for parents to find out about computer safeguards utilized by their children's school, the public library, and other places where their children may use computers, such as in the homes of their children's friends. ("Kid Porn Easier to..." 2002; Stempel, 2001) Any child porn activity should be promptly reported to agencies such as Child Pornography Tipline specially created to fight child porn online.

Warning Signs

There are various telltale warning signs that parents can watch out for to detect whether their children are being stalked by predators on the Internet or whether they are accessing inappropriate online material. Young children who are sexually solicited or victimized often become withdrawn; hence if a child becomes withdrawn from the family, the reasons for the change in behavior should be explored as. Other warning signs for parents to watch out for include:

Your child quickly turns off the computer monitor or computer screen when you enter his/her room to conceal the computer content.

A child is using an online account belonging to someone else: computer-sex offenders will sometimes provide potential victims with a computer account for communication with them.

Your child spends large amounts of time online, especially at night: most children who fall victim to pedophiles are the ones who spend long hours on the Internet in chat rooms.

Pornography on your child's computer: Pedophiles and sex-offenders often provide children with pornographic material to seduce them and to show them that sex between adults and children is "normal."

Unsolicited mail and gifts: pedophiles are apt to provide letters, photographs and gifts to their potential victims. Sex offenders are known to have sent even long-distant plane tickets to arrange clandestine meetings with them.

Kid Porn Easier to..." 2002)

Conclusion

As we saw in this paper, the Internet has become the main source of child porn in recent years mainly because it provides the easiest and most effective means of communication for the pedophiles to exchange information and to approach their potential victims. Although crime-fighting agencies try their best to fight child porn traffic on the Internet, the activity continues to flourish unabated. The parents, therefore, have a major role to play in protecting their children from falling victim to the predators and sex-offenders who lurk in the cyberspace, by keeping a vigilant eye on their online activity......

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