I did a paper on online child pornography and it really got to me. I think about the safety
of my children on the Internet how to educate them. We have come so far in our use of the
Internet. We type in just a few keys and within seconds we get tons of information about
almost anything. From books online to a picture of Janet Jackson's nipple. Unfortunately,
the farther we come with technology the easier it has become for people to come together and
share their sick interest, slipping through the cracks of the authorities who should
otherwise be behind bars. Let us first define child pornography so that everyone is clear
what I am talking about, because for some people, they believe if a child is fourteen or
fifteen they are legal. Child pornography is the depiction of a child under the age of
eighteen engages in sexually explicit behaviors. Child pornography is getting out of hand
around the world. If it is not illegal everywhere in the world then darn it, it should be.
I am not saying that we have blinders on and we are not aware of it. In fact, we are
realizing that it is a big problem and we are doing something about it. Adult websites are
coming together to stand up against child pornography. We all have to have work together to
protect the innocence of our children. Landslide Inc. was a multi-million dollar website
which sold porn. Credit card details showed that 250,000 people worldwide had accessed
material on this site. British police forces found that over 7,000 individuals had linked
up to child pornography sites. 3,500 of the suspects were arrested, 1,679 have been
charged, and 1,230 were convicted. Normally, when one thinks of "sex offenders" lawyers,
doctors, teachers, police, and civil servants most likely are not the first people to cross
your mind; however, these are the kind of people that were looking at child pornography.
One of the people arrested was Who guitarist Peter Townsend who is now registered as a sex
offender. Evidence was found that British children were being abused so images could be
traded online. FBI is now cracking down on pedophiles. Officers may pose as young children
on the Internet. The also shut down some companies that allow "uncensored" movies and
photographs. In saying that, there is however, a federal law that protects Internet service
providers from criminal liability when systems are used for child porn without their
knowledge.
If you want to help with the fight against online child porn you can. There are
organizations online that are looking around the clock for pedophiles. The e-police and
cyber angels are just a couple of many organizations. If you see child porn on the Internet
1. Jot down the name of the website, chatroom, or newsgroup.
2. If you get it through unsolicited e-mail, get the screen name and ISP and forward the
message to the FBI
3. VERY IMPORTANT!!!! DO NOT DOWNLOAD. You can get yourself in a whole lot of trouble
that way.
Remember if you have children, it can also help to educate them, let them know what is going
on out there and monitor what they do on the Internet.