CyberLaw Blog

Archive for the ‘child pornography’ Category

Judges reject Operation Ore appeal: “

Claims of card fraud in child abuse pics case dismissed

The Court of Appeal has rejected claims that some individuals prosecuted under Operation Ore for incitement to distribute indecent photographs were themselves the victims of credit card fraud.…

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(Via The Register – Public Sector.)

Operation Ore decision a ’serious miscarriage of justice’ – lawyer: “

Judges ignored evidence, lacked expertise

The solicitor who brought the Operation Ore appeal that was finally rejected today has questioned whether the British courts had the expertise to consider deeply technical cases.…

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(Via The Register – Public Sector.)

Child pornography: MEPs doubt effectiveness of blocking web access

Justice and home affairs – 22-11-2010 – 15:55

Committee : Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Blocking access to web sites containing child pornography may not be entirely effective, and could be hard to do EU-wide, due to EU Member States’ differing sensitivities and traditions, said Civil Liberties Committee MEPs on Monday, in a preliminary debate on a proposed EU directive on sexual abuse of children and child pornography. Studies suggest that between 10% and 20% of children in Europe are sexually assaulted during childhood.
MEPs questioned Belgian justice minister Stefaan De Clerck, representing the Council Presidency, on the progress of the proposed EU directive on sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.

Civil Liberties Committee rapporteur Roberta Angelilli (EPP, IT), pointed out that ‘there are still some critical points’ to be discussed, due mainly to ‘differences in the legal systems’ of the Member States and their criminal law provisions. Ms Angelilli’s draft report should be presented in January 2011 and the committee vote should be taken in February.

Tough issues in the current discussions include rules to prevent anyone convicted of child abuse offences in one Member State from getting a job with children in another Member States, combating sex tourism, and blocking access to internet sites. Blocking internet access, or deleting internet pages is a particularly sensitive area, where ‘Member States have different traditions and sensibilities’, said Mr De Clerck.

The proposal will be discussed as a priority item at the December meeting of the Council, where ‘we want to have a final decision’, he added, so that the directive can be finalised and approved under the Hungarian Presidency next year. The December Council is to procedural matters, protection of victims, and prevention.

Doubts about blocking web access

Alexander Alvaro (ALDE, DE), focused on efforts to remove web sites posting child abuse material. ‘Blocking does not seem to be very efficient’, he said, suggesting that the question of whether a web site should be deleted or blocked is perhaps best left to Member States, rather than the EU. He also pointed out that asking the United States or Russia to take web sites off the internet could be problematic.

‘In a hearing in October we heard one organization of victims and it was against blocking websites’, pointed out Andrew Brons (NI, UK), adding that ‘blocking can be merely cosmetic’, and noting the case of an Irish bakery web site which had been linked to a web site containing child pornography without the knowledge of the original internet host server.

‘Blocking web sites is not just a conflict of legal traditions, it’s also a political matter’, said Jan Albrecht (Greens/EFA, DE). ‘Blocking apparently doesn’t work’, he said, noting that the web site of a campaign against child pornography had twice been blocked in the Netherlands.

Preventing child abuse is much more important, argued Birgit Sippel (S&D, DE), adding that further discussion was needed on the proposal’s ‘internal contradictions’ with regard to sanctions to be imposed.

‘Blocking internet sites can be rather pointless. Why is not the accent put on prevention?’, Sophia in’t Veld (ALDE, NL), asked Mr De Clerk.

Replying to MEPs’ questions, Mr De Clerk emphasised that ‘we have to strike a good balance between feasibility and the efficiency of the instrument as a whole. We need all types of measures, so that we can react early to prevent any sexual abuse. In December, I hope I can give positive results’.

In the chair: Sophia in’t Veld (ALDE, NL)

REF.: 20101115IPR94729

Case could clear names of hundreds of men accused of child pornography | UK news | The Guardian: “Case could clear names of hundreds of men accused of child pornography

Man arrested as part of Operation Ore in 2002 says his credit card details were stolen and used on paedophile sites

* Afua Hirsch and Louise Shorter
* guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 10 November 2010 19.36 GMT
Hundreds of men who say they were wrongly accused of child pornography offences could have their names cleared after a case to be heard in the court of appeal tomorrow.

One of the 3,700 men arrested as part of Operation Ore in 2002, who says his life was ruined after he was falsely associated with one of the UK’s biggest online child-abuse rings, will argue that his credit card details were stolen and used on paedophile sites.

The case stems from Operation Ore, an unprecedented police investigation that led to the arrest of 3,700 men in 2002 after they were linked to an American US-based website, ‘Landslide.

Police and prosecutors claimed that the men had all clicked on a banner advert on the site, which read: ‘Click here for child porn,’ and that police had obtained the names and addresses of more than 7,000 UK users who had followed the link.

But the lawyer acting for the man mentioned said that many of the suspects were innocent.

‘Criminal webmasters would use stolen credit card details or take them from their own legal adult pornography sites and re-enter them to sign up for subscriptions to their illegal sites for child pornography,’ said Chris Saltrese. ‘There is evidence of bundles of different cards all being entered from one place, one after the other. It was simple fraud.’

The appeal court will also hear that the banner was only ever one of a series of rotating ads that led to a legal adult pornography site.

Operation Ore has attracted controversy in the UK for the number of suspects it targeted. Critics claim that, whereas in the US, details were available of 35,000 users of the site but only 100 were prosecuted, the UK authorities prosecuted 1,800.

Thirty-nine of the men are reported to have killed themselves as a result of being prosecuted during the Ore inquiry, and campaigners say many others pleaded guilty to avoid the publicity of a trial.

The case, which has been strongly contested by officers involved in the original investigation, comes amid continuing controversy over efforts to target child exploitation online in the UK.

In July the government announced that CEOP, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, which is responsible for prosecuting offenders, would be absorbed into the National Crime Agency, following the coalition’s programmme Policing in the 21st Century, announced in June.

Senior politicians close to CEOP have said that absorbing the organisation into the National Crime Agency will put children at risk.

‘CEOP’s effectiveness will be lost,’ a senior source said. ‘Effective child protection relies on knowledge running throughout an agency. It will be difficult to develop this in a large organisation like the National Crime Agency.’

Last month head of CEOP Jim Gamble resigned, four months earlier than his expected departure, in protest at the plans, four months earlier than his expected departure, and has been placed on gardening leave. A number of other senior managers in the organisation are also thought to have resigned.

Although Operation Ore was conducted by the National Criminal Intelligence Service, a forerunner of CEOP, the investigation has attracted criticism for the organisation, as today’s appeal could pave the way for other men to have their convictions overturned.

‘I have clients who have lost everything: their jobs, their homes, their marriages, their children and their health,’ Saltrese said.

Media Release: Global investigation cracks child exploitation network – Australian Federal Police: “Media Release: Global investigation cracks child exploitation network

Release Date: August 27, 2010

International law enforcement agencies have combined to dismantle an alleged organised child exploitation network that had been operating via the social networking site Facebook.

A total of eleven people have been arrested as part of a coordinated operation across Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Law enforcement has made six arrests in relation to child abuse image offences in the United Kingdom, including the alleged head of the network. Three arrests have been made in Australia and two in Canada. Investigations are ongoing with the operation currently spanning four continents.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) began the investigation in March this year and has operated in partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP) in the United Kingdom and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The investigation began when a covert AFP Internet Policing Team member established an online identity on Facebook and was approached by one of the network members. Upon further investigation into the network, referrals were made to overseas counterparts leading to the arrests across the globe.

AFP National Manager High Tech Crime Operations Neil Gaughan heralded the successful operation as a clear demonstration of co-operation between international law enforcement agencies.

‘Criminal activity of this type is often described as a borderless crime because there’s no geographical restriction on where offenders may try to target their victims,’ Assistant Commissioner Gaughan said.

‘Policing in this social networking environment is a challenge, but the cooperation during this operation demonstrates that international law enforcement is united in a global fight against online child exploitation material.

‘The investigation should serve as a warning to both social networking providers and users.

‘In this case, Facebook deactivated the online accounts of the initial suspects but there were indications that, within hours, the groups were reforming again under new accounts.

‘It is important that content service providers including Facebook constantly scan for child exploitation material, and then inform law enforcement of their findings.’

CEOP Chief Executive Jim Gamble said, ‘This network was made up of people who share an interest in viewing extremely disturbing images of children suffering horrific abuse.’

‘All the officers working on this investigation – both in the UK and in Australia, America, Canada and elsewhere – shared a steely determination to safeguard children wherever they were and to bring those involved to justice,’ Mr Gamble said.

‘Offenders are not limited by their geography and neither are we. We have worked side by side with the Australian Federal Police, the FBI, the RCMP and colleagues in a number of other countries to ensure that no stone is left unturned and no child is left unprotected.

‘Project Ocean should send a clear message to others who think that online environments offer them anonymity in their offending. Everything you do leaves a digital footprint and, working together, we will stop at nothing to protect children suffering abuse.’

FBI Assistant Director Gordon M. Snow, Cyber Division, said: ‘The sexual exploitation of children is a heinous offense, and the FBI is committed to identifying and thwarting online predators, no matter where they live.’

‘We work side-by-side with our law enforcement partners around the world to identify and pursue those who produce, possess and distribute sexually explicit images and videos of children.’

RCMP Superintendent John Bilinski, Officer in Charge of the Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children said: ‘The RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre is committed to working with its international policing partners. Project Ocean is a clear demonstration of how international co-operation can help ensure that child sexual offenders are brought to justice.’

‘One of our most effective strategies against Internet-facilitated child sexual abuse is cooperation. No single agency can deal with this crime in isolation. We continually work together with our partners to ensure the safety and security of children, regardless of where they live.’

Media enquiries
AFP National Media Team +61 (2) 6131 6333
CEOP Media +44 (0) 870 000 3434
RCMP Media +1 613 993-2999
FBI Media +1 202-324-3691

FACTS & STATS

Background:

The operation began in March 2010 when an AFP Internet Policing Team member established a covert online identity in Facebook.

The profile was approached by numerous Facebook users to become ‘friends’ and commenced engagement with these friends.

The engagement identified the network exchanging child exploiting material using Facebook to host the images. Members of the network were identified and referrals were made to the countries they were identified to live in.

Australia

* On 2 June 2010, a 33-year-old Victorian man was charged with two counts of using a carriage service to access child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth); two counts of using a carriage service to make available child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(iv), of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth); and possessing child pornography, contrary to section 70(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic). The man will appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on 6 October 2010.
* On 2 June 2010, a 18-year-old Victorian man was charged with two counts of using a carriage service to access child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code Act 1995; two counts of using a carriage service to make available child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19(1)(a)(iv) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) and possessing child pornography, contrary to section 70(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic). The man will appear in Geelong Magistrates Court on 24 September 2010.
* On 15 June 2010, a 27-year-old New South Wales man was charged with using a carriage service to transmit child pornography material, contrary to section 474.19 (1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Code Act 1995. The man will appear in Wollongong Local Court on 14 October 2010.

United Kingdom

The CEOP have arrested and charged six males in the United Kingdom, one of which is the alleged head of the network.

* The 45-year-old Worthing man has been sentenced to four years in prison and served with a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, after pleading guilty overnight at Chichester Crown Court to making (six counts); possessing (one count); distributing (seven counts) and view to distributing (10 counts) child abuse images. He was also found guilty of breaching his requirements on the Sex Offenders Register. The man was arrested by Sussex Police who initiated a specific investigation to gather evidence of his offences. Further police activity lead detectives to identify five additional suspects in the UK and a further nine suspects overseas, with investigations still underway.
* Two UK children have been safeguarded and five further suspected offenders have been arrested in the UK.

Canada

Law enforcement agencies have arrested two males in Canada. One suspect has been charged with four counts relating to child exploitation in Canada.
Regarding the second man, the investigation is still ongoing.”

(Via .)

Translator fined over child porn cartoons – The Local

Published: 25 Jul 10 11:14 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/27984/20100725/

A Swedish translator of Japanese manga comics has been fined by Uppsala district court for possession of drawings depicting children engaged in sexual acts.

The ruling is the first of its kind in Sweden and has sparked a heated debate over children’s rights and censorship.

The translator at the centre of the case was found guilty of possessing child pornography after downloading the offending manga images from the internet. He told the court that he had retrieved the 51 pictures in order to stay up to date with the latest developments in the Japanese comic genre.

Judge Nils Pålbrant conceded that the decision to fine the translator, though unanimous, had raised a number of thorny issues.

‘There’s a clear conflict between freedom of speech on the one hand and general regulations regarding children’s rights on the other,’ he told local newspaper Upsala Nya Tidning.

‘It was however our view that the protective aspect weighed more heavily when taking into account the intentions of the legislator. The aim of the law, as described in the preliminary work that led to its creation, is not just to protect individual children but children in general.’

But the case has polarized opinion in Sweden. In an editorial published on Thursday, tabloid Expressen gave its backing to the translator.

‘However unpleasant and nasty a work of fiction might be, and whatever one thinks about Japanese porn involving cartoon children, there is actually no victim here. The children in the Uppland man’s manga comics were not molested since they were characters in a comic.’

The translator’s lawyer, Leif Silbersky, expressed surprise at the June 30th ruling and has lodged a formal appeal on behalf of his client.

‘It goes against all common sense. These are just drawings; no children have been harmed,’ he told Upsala Nya Tidning.

Judge Pålbrant said he too would welcome a second opinion from the Court of Appeal due to the precedential nature of the case.

Internet Freedom under pressure in Denmark: “

On 27 May the Danish Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision which obliges internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to websites that may contain – or link to other sites which contain – material which infringes copyrights (the Pirate Bay in this instance).

The decision has rightly been criticized as a setback for internet freedom in Denmark. The decision attaches undue weight to the interests of copyright holders while ignoring obvious dangers of abuse, restrictions on internet freedom and access to information and the lack of any due process. The decision may lead to the blocking of websites that mainly includes content that does not infringe copyright and thus restrict the free flow of information. Moreover, by forcing ISP’s to police the Internet without due process the decision marks a dangerous precedent that is likely to include other ‘illegal’ or ‘offensive’ material in the future.

The Supreme Court’s decision is only the latest instance of a wider trend towards internet regulation in Denmark (ranked as the country with the freest press in the world by Reporters Without Borders).

In 2005 The Danish police set up the so-called Child Pornography Filter in co-operation with the Danish NGO Red Barnet (Save the Child). When Red Barnet and the Police identify web-sites that contain child pornography the police informs ISPs and request them to block access to these sites with no prior warning or hearing. The sites blocked by the filter are kept confidential by the police. In 2008 Wikileaks leaked all the sites blocked by the filter which seemed to show that several sites were either inactive or contained material that had nothing to do with child pornography.

Earlier in 2010 the Danish parliament (Folketinget) passed a law, which will allow the tax authorities to notify ISPs of web sites operated by ‘unauthorized’ providers of online-gambling. ISPs will then be requested to block access to such sites. Should the relevant ISPs refuse or fail to do so they will be subject to criminal liability. No courts or tribunals will review the decisions of the tax-authorities nor will the owners of the relevant websites be heard prior to a decision. It is an open question whether this law violates the Danish constitution’s prohibition against censorship and/or the European Convention on Human Rights’ protection of freedom of expression and access to information.

Several Danish lawmakers have proposed wide ranging restrictions on Internet access. Earlier in 2010 the Socialist Peoples’ Part proposed criminalizing surfing on ‘terror related web sites’ and the Danish Peoples’ Party has twice proposed banning www.psychedlica.dk a website dedicated to sharing information about drugs. According to media reports the Danish governments has also been very active in keeping the ongoing Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations confidential. According to leaks from the ACTS negotiations the current ACTA draft envisages intrusive measures likely to threaten internet freedom and the right to privacy.

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(Via Global Voices Advocacy.)

AFP: Japan must crack down on child porn: activists

(AFP) – 14.05.2010

TOKYO — Japan’s government must crack down on rampant child pornography, which proliferates on the Internet causing great mental anguish for its victims, an activist group demanded Friday.

Japan is considered a major global source of child porn — in part because, while production and distribution of child pornography are illegal, its possession is not.

Keiji Goto, head of the lawyers’ Forum Against Child Pornography, said he did not understand why the centre-left government in power since last year has not cracked down on images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.

On many child porn websites, he said, ‘most of the victimised children have their faces exposed in images that are posted and distributed on the Internet forever, and they suffer from mental and physical trauma forever.’

Goto spoke a day after Tokyo police arrested 20 people, and referred cases of seven others to prosecutors, for allegedly posting child porn on a website opened by a high school student for access via mobile phones.

The National Police Agency this year reported that law enforcers took action in a record 935 child porn cases last year, up 38 percent from 2008.

Goto also called for a ban on child pornography in the form of manga cartoons and computer graphics, which are now legal, saying they ‘are as realistic as the child pornography in the form of video and photography.’

‘One of the worst cases of those animation images depicts a graphic scene of the rape of an infant,’ Goto said at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. ‘Tolerating this means our society tolerates child pornography.’

A National Police Agency survey showed about 25 percent of child porn images posted on the Internet had not been deleted despite requests made last December for Internet service providers to do so, Kyodo News reported Friday.

The government, which took power last September, has said it plans to draw up new measures against child pornography by June, based on guidelines mapped out by police, education, justice and other senior officials.

A group of Japanese cartoonists in March protested against a Tokyo metropolitan government plan to tighten rules against sexual images of minors in comics, animation and computer game software.

Japan’s capital had proposed to call on publishers to exercise greater restraint on sales of any cartoon works that feature sexual depictions of characters that people would assume to be under age.

The cartoonists said the measures would ‘violate freedom of expression.

Jail for man who broke into woman’s home to frame husband for child porn: A man has been sent to prison after he attempted to force his way into a female colleague’s life by breaking into her house and framing her husband for downloading child pornography.

(Via Tech and Web from Times Online.)

Cartoon Law goes live: “

Time to burn your Japanese comics

If you happen to possess any cartoon images on your hard drive – or on your bookshelf – that just might depict children involved in or present at a sexual act, then you should probably have deleted them already.…

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(Via The Register – Public Sector.)