Pornography On The Internet Essay
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REGULATION S OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ON THE INTERNET
The use of the Internet facilitates their purposes but this report will deal with the regulation of child pornography on the Internet under various legislation. Child pornography is a serious concern for parents and law authorities and the Internet is unfortunately used by paedophiles to traffic in these. As you will see below there have been recent operations which were followed by successful prosecutions in the UK and the US.
RELEVANT UK LEGISLATION DEALING WITH CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
Protection of Children Act 1978
The offence in section 1 of the 1978 states:
"It is an offence for a person -
(a) to take, or permit to be taken or to make, any indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child;
(b) to distribute or show such indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs; or ........."
The section 7(7) of the 1978 Act gives a legal definition to the pseudo-photographs by stating:
"(7) "Pseudo-photograph" means an image, whether made by computer-graphics or otherwise howsoever, which appears to be a photograph."
The meaning of photograph and the introduction of "Pseudo-Photographs"
The definition of "photograph" given in section 7(4) of the Protection of Children Act 1978 did not include photographs in electronic data format and it was criticised by the Crown Prosecution Service in their evidence to the Home Affairs Committee. The response came in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Section 84(4) of the 1994 Act inserted a subsection (b) to section 7(4) of the 1978:
"(b) data stored on a computer disc or by other electronic means which is capable of conversion into a photograph."
The main purpose of section 84 was to deal with the so called "pseudo-photographs" of children. Pseudo-photographs are technically photographs but they are created by computer software such as MS Paintbrush or Picture Publisher by using more than one picture. For example a child's face can be superimposed on an adult body or to another child's body together with the alteration of the characteristics of the body. In the evidence given to the Home Affairs Committee, the case of Shakespeare was mentioned. In this case little girls' heads were put on to a pornographic adult body. Mr. Newell, Director of Casework stated that they were unable to prosecute in this case because the photographs involved were pseudo-photographs.
Section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988
"(1) It is an offence for a person to have any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child in his possession.
(2) Where a person is charged with an offence under ss(1) above, it shall be a defence for him to prove -
(a) that he had a legitimate reason for having the photograph or pseudo-photograph in his possession; or
(b) that he had not himself seen the photograph or pseudo-photograph and did not know, nor had any cause to suspect, it to be indecent; or
(c) that the photograph or pseudo-photograph was sent to him without any prior request made by him or on his behalf and that he did not keep it for an unreasonable time."
This offence is a serious arrestable offence with a maximum imprisonment term not exceeding six months. It has been successfully used in its new form in the recent cases of Sharp and Crumpton.
Operation Starburst
The British police were involved in Operation Starbust, an international investigation of a paedophile ring thought to be using the Internet to distribute graphic pictures of child pornography. Nine British men were arrested as a result of the operation which involved other arrests in Europe, America, South Africa and the Far East. The operation identified 37 men world wide. A German student arrested in Germany, then identified other 39, 2 of them in the UK, and one of them then identified other 17. The operation was widely reported in the media and Detective Inspector David Davis, head of West Midlands police commercial vice unit stated that this was so far the biggest operation they have carried out concerning the distribution of child pornography on the Internet.
Possession Offences:
As a result of Operation Starburst six cases of simple possession offences were brought to court.
Case of Sharp
Following Operation Starburst, a management consultant named Christopher Sharp has been fined 9000 (Nigel Bunyan, "Man fined 9000 for Internet porn", [1995] The Electronic Telegraph, 27 October). He is the first person to be prosecuted in a case involving pornography and the Internet. Sharp admitted two charges of possessing indecent photographs of children under the age of 16 contrary to section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. His computer equipment was seized, he was fined 4500 on each charge, and he was ordered to pay 35.00 costs.
Case of Crumpton
In early 1996, Martin Crumpton, a former computer consultant, was sentenced to three months imprisonment in a Birmingham magistrates' court (See "Man jailed over child pornography on Internet", [1996] The Electronic Telegraph, 5 January). He also admitted to being in possession of indecent pictures of children and is the first person to be jailed in an offence concerning pornography and the Internet.
US CHILD PORNOGRAPHY LEGISLATION
It is a federal offence to knowingly receive child pornography. Child pornography is defined as: "any visual depiction of "sexually explicit conduct" involving children".
Pseudo-Photographs
None of the US federal or state laws deal with so called pseudo-photographs. It is not illegal to create or possess pornographic images of children by means of computers. Child Pornography Prevention Act 1995 was introduced to criminalize material that depicts children engaging in sexually-explicit conduct whether or not the material was produced with children or entirely without computer.
Pseudo-photographs will be subject to the Miller obscenity test and other federal laws dealing with obscenity but not child pornography. It will be up to the defendant to prove that the creation of the pictures did not involve minors.
"Computer-generated child pornography results in many of the same types of harm, and poses the same danger to the well-being of children, as photographic child pornography, and provide a compelling governmental interest for prohibiting the production, distribution, possessing, sale or viewing of all forms of child pornography, including computer-generated depictions which are, or appear to be, of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct."
Operation Innocent Images:
In September 1995, the FBI made several arrests and searched 120 homes nation-wide, concluding a two-year investigation into the use of America On-Line to distribute child pornography and arrange sex with children.
Following the FBI s operation, in February 1996, John Delmarle, 49, has been sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in Rochester, New York. Delmarle agreed to a maximum sentence of 33 months for sending sexually explicit pictures of children through America Online under a plea agreement in December. However, U.S. District Judge Telesca opted to impose a longer sentence, citing the nature of Delmarle s crime and previous paedophile convictions. Prosecutors stated that the pictures Delmarle transmitted in July and August 1994 portrayed sadistic conduct involving children under the age of 12. He was also sentenced to three years probation and six months of home confinement after his release, and was barred from associating with minors or using a computer for anything other than employment purposes.
"Orchid Club" Indictments
A federal grand jury in San Jose, California, has indicted 16 people from the U.S. and abroad for their participation in a child pornography ring called the "Orchid Club," whose members used the Internet to share sexual pictures and conduct online chat during a child molestation. A U.S. attorney says there are no free speech issues involved: "The thing that ups the anti in this case is that allegations of distribution of pornography are coupled with serious allegations of child molestation. It's an issue relating to the protection of children, not to the First Amendment."
The 24 charges against the alleged members of an Internet child pornography ring include conspiracy to sexually exploit children. Tony West, prosecuting assistant and US attorney called the case, "very serious and tragic", saying that while the technology itself is not to blame, people will always find ways to exploit the Internet for such base purposes.
The defendants, who allegedly belonged to a private, online child pornography group called the Orchid Club, shared photos and videos of girls aged five to ten that they had taken themselves. According to the indictment, the men engaged in real-time photo shoots where they typed messages requesting photos of the girls in certain poses while one member shot photos with a digital camera and transmitted the photos back to the group.
The members of the club, who live in various US states and in Finland, Australia and Canada, allegedly had to know a secret password to access the photos and online chat sessions. According to the indictment, the men also had to undergo an initiation rite that required them to "recount a personal experience involving their sexual activity with a minor."
FBI conducts On-line child pornography raids in 20 cities
On December 11, 1996, the FBI conducted a nation-wide investigation of child pornography on the Internet and computer online services in 20 US cities. FBI Director Louis Freeh stated that:
"Today's searches reflect the FBI's continuing priority attack against some of the most despicable crimes that prey on children".
The FBI said no immediate arrests were made but could be forthcoming after...
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