The Internet and The Porn Industry

The US government has a task force made up of military and US Spooks (in the late 90's there were about 30 people, I knew one of them), they have primary responsibility. There is also a confederation of NGO's and state law enforcement who are constantly on the lookout. There are a bunch of do-gooders who surf the web, when they come across questionable sites they turn them in to a NGO, which documents and then calls in their law enforcement contacts.

Where does the FBI come in, Someone on the Island was recently arrested for alledged child porno on their website and the arrest was made by FBI agents.

I believe the law states that anyone under the age of 18 and performs sex shown on the internet is considered a child and thusly is considered child porn.

What is Child Pornography?

Under federal law (18 U.S.C. §2256), child pornography1 is defined as any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, video, picture, or computer or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where

the production of the visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or


the visual depiction is a digital image, computer image, or computer-generated image that is, or is indistinguishable from, that of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or


the visual depiction has been created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Federal law (18 U.S.C. §1466A) also criminalizes knowingly producing, distributing, receiving, or possessing with intent to distribute, a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture or painting, that

depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene, or


depicts an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex and such depiction lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Sexually explicit conduct is defined under federal law (18 U.S.C. §2256) as actual or simulated sexual intercourse (including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex), bestiality, masturbation, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person.

Who Is a Minor?
For purposes of enforcing the federal law (18 U.S.C. §2256), “minor” is defined as a person under the age of 18.

Is Child Pornography a Crime?
Yes, it is a federal crime to knowingly possess, manufacture, distribute, or access with intent to view child pornography (18 U.S.C. §2252). In addition, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws criminalizing the possession, manufacture, and distribution of child pornography. As a result, a person who violates these laws may face federal and/or state charges.

Where Is Child Pornography Predominantly Found?
Child pornography exists in multiple formats including print media, videotape, film, CD-ROM, or DVD. It is transmitted on various platforms within the Internet including newsgroups, Internet Relay Chat (chatrooms), Instant Message, File Transfer Protocol, e-mail, websites, and peer-to-peer technology.

What Motivates People Who Possess Child Pornography?
Limited research about the motivations of people who possess child pornography suggests that child pornography possessors are a diverse group, including people who are

sexually interested in prepubescent children or young adolescents, who use child pornography for sexual fantasy and gratification


sexually “indiscriminate,” meaning they are constantly looking for new and different sexual stimuli


sexually curious, downloading a few images to satisfy that curiosity


interested in profiting financially by selling images or setting up web sites requiring payment for access2
Who Possesses Child Pornography?
It is difficult to describe a “typical” child pornography possessor because there is not just one type of person who commits this crime.

In a study of 1,713 people arrested for the possession of child pornography in a 1-year period, the possessors ran the gamut in terms of income, education level, marital status, and age. Virtually all of those who were arrested were men, 91% were white, and most were unmarried at the time of their crime, either because they had never married (41%) or because they were separated, divorced, or widowed (21%).3

Forty percent (40%) of those arrested were “dual offenders,” who sexually victimized children and possessed child pornography, with both crimes discovered in the same investigation. An additional 15% were dual offenders who attempted to sexually victimize children by soliciting undercover investigators who posed online as minors.4

Who Produces Child Pornography?
Based on information provided by law enforcement to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's Child Victim Identification Program, more than half of the child victims were abused by someone who had legitimate access to them such as parents, other relatives, neighborhood/family friends, babysitters, and coaches.

What is the Nature of These Images?
The content in these illegal images varies from exposure of genitalia to graphic sexual abuse, such as penetration by objects, anal penetration, and bestiality.

Of the child pornography victims identified by law enforcement, 42% appear to be pubescent, 52% appear to be prepubescent, and 6% appear to be infants or toddlers.

What Are the Effects of Child Pornography on the Child Victim?
It is important to realize that these images are crime scene photos " they are a permanent record of the abuse of a child. The lives of the children featured in these illegal images and videos are forever altered.

Once these images are on the Internet, they are irretrievable and can continue to circulate forever. The child is revictimized as the images are viewed again and again.

End Notes
1 As stated by Janis Wolak, Kimberly Mitchell, and David Finkelhor in Internet Sex Crimes Against Minors: The Response of Law Enforcement (Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, November 2003, page vii), “The term ‘child pornography,’ because it implies simply conventional pornography with child subjects, is an inappropriate term to describe the true nature and extent of sexually exploitive images of child victims. Use of this term should not be taken to imply that children ‘consented’ to the sexual acts depicted in these photographs; however, it is the term most readily recognized by the public, at this point in time, to describe this form of child sexual exploitation. It is used in this [document] to refer to illegal pictorial material involving children under the standards developed by statute, case law, and law-enforcement-agency protocols. It is hoped a more accurate term will be recognized, understood, and accepted for use in the near future.”
2 Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor, and Kimberly Mitchell. Child-Pornography Possessors Arrested in Internet-Related Crimes: Findings From the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study (Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2005, page x) citing Eva J. Klain, Heather J. Davies, Molly A. Hicks. Child Pornography: The Criminal-Justice-System Response (Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, March 2001) and M. Taylor and E. Quayle. Child pornography: An Internet crime. Hove: Brunner-Routledge, 2003.
3 Id., pages 1-3.
4 Id., page viii.

There are a lot of countries represented here. How are these "internet crimes dealt with in your country. What are your laws?

In France, the laws are quite similar to those of the US...

From listing to a English base Forensic podcast it is my understanding that there are five levels of child porn and some poor guys have to view the **** to grade it!

I, probably with a majority of people, am appalled at the child porn business, sexual exploitation et al.

However, being long envolved with 12-step recovery programs I recognize that an addiction to child porm is an addiction. I have not noted that these offenders are dealt with quickly with a loss of freedom, actually a loss of everything.

I don't see that treatment for the addiction is taken into consideration.

I was molested as a child and spent many years in therapy. But in the end I was able to forgive my molester and get closure.

Sglass I am sorry you needed to go through that early in life or anytime in life for that matter.

One big concern I have is however the threat of evil child porn trading is being used all over the world to control, track and censor the internet for reasons that have zero to do with child porn or any other sexual misdeed.

Then we are becoming so insane over the issue that young people are facing child porn charges for sending pictures of themselves.

Like everything else in live we need a balance and that does not seem to be occurring on the subject at all.

like this?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-9899151-38.html

The honey pots links by the way are even more fun when you consider that a lot of browsers by default cache links so you never need to click on those links to get your door broken down at 2 am.

Even if you never never plan on doing one thing illegal or immoral on the net it still a good idea to take steps so no one can track you back by way of your ISP address.

distributing porn makes sense as a crime assuming that we get back to defining child porn is children preforming sex acts instead of the current "what ever we imagine a perv would like" definition. Buying child porn under the same conditions. But looking? So if I walk down a street and see a person getting mugged am I guilty of a crime now? Even if the man is correct that I am I a sicko who got off on it I have not committed a crime, and how is the state going to get inside my heart and head to know if i have profited from this crime??....that assuming that liking something can even be called profiting....

To me this is nothing other than the corruption of the criminal justice system.

England seem to be a little more rational on the subject then the US however I can see the point that viewing some child being raped and abused for the pleasure of it should be a crime in and of itself

By having those kind of video and pictures out on the net you are continuing to harm the victims of those rapes and abuses and creating a market for creating more abused for either economic grain or trading credit with others.

Somehow for example if you had been gang raped by evil homosexuals as a child, after they had been kick out of the military, I do not think you would find the idea that the video of that rape is still giving sexual enjoyment to others decades later acceptable.

Like everything else there should be some judgment and it should not be used as an excused to limit freedoms or to widely monitor the uses of the net by the public.

I cannot even begin to guess how to do that.
Presumably, the FBI coud and woud get thru it anyway,
but I 'm only guessing at that.





David

If there are multiple people in the raided house,
I wonder how thay decide who to prosecute?

Assuming that thay prosecute EVERYONE thay find in the raided house,
how do thay know whether the clicker was someone else
who was there on the day of the illegal clicking ?





David

You presume wrong the FBI is going after the 99.999 percent that is low hanging fruits only.

The ISP shown to the able2know website when I post and the owner of that ISP assignment had zero connection with me as a matter of fact and would be a complete dead end to any FBI probe.

Try searching for the words "tor network" and after reading about it tell me that the FBI is going to be able to track encrypted traffic bounce around the world to the source ISP.

That is just one of many means that anyone can used to protect their privacy on the net.

It not that the FBI/government has the ability to track people who take precautions or break hard drive encryption for example it just that 99.9999 percent of the population does not take such precautions.

Even people who are doing things that can get them send to prison for 20 years do not strangely take such precautions.

First people talk and without a lawyer within a hundred miles they talk and end up talking themselves into a jail cell.

Second, if you do not talk and if they can not find any child porn on your computer then they are out of luck but they are counting on one or the other or both to make a case after they get the search warrant.

The honey pot is a mean to get a search warrant and break your door down at 2 am and seized and search your computer.

One case involving a honey pot raid they found no child porn but they found a thumbnail of a picture they claim was an underage girl and on that one little thumbnail they put the man in prison.

Another reason why you should always had your drive protected with a whole drive encrypted program such as truecrypt.

Thank u; this is the first that I 've heard of the tor network.
U seem to be well informed about computers.
I 'm not.





David

I did not know that there was a danger of getting unknown pictures put on my computer.
How do I find out whether there are any pictures on there now
that I don 't know about? I bought the computer new.
I 've never heard of truecrypt before. It keeps pictures off of your hard drive?

No truecrypt is a program that enable you to encrypted your whole drive so no but you can access the drive or your computer at all.

Assuming you pick a good and long pass phrase that is.

A police search warrant mean they can copy the drive or seized your computer but it place you under no obligation to made that computer hard drive content available to them by giving them your pass phrase.

So do not say a word to them and let them carry off a hard drive/computer that they can do nothing with as anyone looking at the drive will just see meaningless and random seeming numbers.