CyberLaw Blog

Archive for the ‘sexual exploitation’ Category

Sexual offenders are using the internet to fast-track abuse: “(Daily Telegraph)
Sexual offenders are using the internet to fast-track abuse, according to new research. Previous studies into child sexual abuse had shown that offenders spent months befriending a young person, and in some cases their family, to prepare for the abuse. But latest research, from the European Online Grooming Project, shows that the grooming process by offenders using the internet is much faster. Rather than selecting one vulnerable child to abuse, some offenders also appear to target numerous young people until they find someone willing to meet them.
They are increasingly using social networking sites such as MSN and Facebook and are becoming technologically-advanced, often operating in communities sharing indecent images between countries, according to the research conducted by NatCen (National Centre for Social Research), Kingston University and Royal Holloway, University of London – which was presented at the UK Council for Child Internet Safety’s (UKCCIS) first annual summit. Prof Julia Davidson, from Kingston University, said. ‘The research shows that the grooming period has been speeded up with chat room communication becoming almost immediately sexualised’.

(Via QuickLinks Update.)

CEOP: parents failing to protect children from online sex predators Parents are a weak link in the chain of defences intended to safeguard children from online sexual predators, says the senior policeman responsible for child protection on the internet

(Via Tech and Web from Times Online.)

Texts adopted – Tuesday, 3 February 2009 – Combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography – P6_TA-PROV(2009)0040

European Parliament recommendation of 3 February 2009 to the Council on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography (2008/2144(INI))
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Latest online offender ‘grooming’ tactics revealed – 2008 – Press releases – Media centre – CEOP: “Friday 11 September 2008
Latest online offender ‘grooming’ tactics revealed
UK centre for tackling the sexual abuse of children advises parents to increase vigilance as latest intelligence report is published

Online child sex offenders are using more intimidating tactics to engage with, exploit and abuse children in an increasingly converged technological environment according to the UK’s police agency dedicated to tackling child sex abuse – the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre.

In its latest strategic intelligence dossier, the organisation reports an increase in online offenders using threats such as hacking online profiles and email accounts and using blackmail techniques as a response to an increasingly empowered internet generation who are recognising and reporting online ‘grooming’ behaviour to the police agency.

To date 2.2 million children and young people have seen the Centre’s Thinkuknow education programme and together with public awareness around international law enforcement activity in tracing and arresting internet offenders, this is resulting in offenders changing their tactics to approach and groom children.
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Feds push child-porn cases; penalty can be years in prison – San Jose Mercury News: “Feds push child-porn cases; penalty can be years in prison

By Howard Mintz, Mercury News
Article Launched: 08/24/2008 01:34:28 AM PDT

Just a few mouse clicks into the forbidden world of Internet child porn can transform an apparently upstanding individual into a federal prison inmate – doing a long sentence.

That’s the harsh reality former KGO radio host Bernie Ward will encounter this week. The popular and prominent liberal voice on Bay Area radio for decades is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday in San Francisco federal court for distributing sexual images of young children. The best the 57-year-old Ward can hope for is five years in prison.

Setting aside his celebrity status, Ward’s case is no aberration.

Ward is ensnared in what is becoming one of the U.S. Justice Department’s fastest-growing areas of prosecution. Child-porn crimes have gone from a rarity on federal court dockets to a phenomenon, with prosecutions jumping nationally from a scant 30 in 1995 to more than 2,100 last year, according to a Mercury News analysis of Justice Department data maintained by Syracuse University.”

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Police warn of online chat danger: “Police warn teenagers about the dangers of chatting to strangers online after a 15-year-old girl went missing.”

(Via BBC News.)

UK – ‘Teen date’ website faces criticism: “(BBC)
A Newsbeat investigation has uncovered a dating website specifically for teenagers which campaigners fear will become a ‘playground for paedophiles’. Children’s Charity, NSPCC, says MyLOL.net, which is marketed for teenagers but has hundreds of adult profiles, should clean up its act or be shut down. The site’s owner claims there are security measures in place and they’ll be toughened up soon.”

(Via QuickLinks Update.)

ISPs Nationwide Unite in Attack against Exploitation: “ISP-based newsgroups have taken a beating in the last month, as New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s initiative against child pornography has forced many of the more popular newsgroup hierarchies offline. Verizon, Sprint, RoadRunner, and late last week, AT&T, have all acted on the Attorney General’s recommendation. Today, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) announced a ‘historic’ agreement where all member companies have entered into a MOU (Memoradum of Understanding) with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) to attack child pornography on their servers and networks.”

(Via Slyck.com File-Sharing News And Information.)

UK – Survey says 11% of kids have online sex chats: “(PC Advisor)
11 percent of children have had a sexually explicit conversation online, according to a survey by The Carphone Warehouse. The Mobile Life survey, which polled 6,000 adults and children about their web and mobile habits also revealed that a quarter of 11 to 18 years olds had visited adult websites and 10 percent had met people they first interacted with online. Almost half the children surveyed admitted they lie to their parents about their online activities, with most using homework as a cover for surfing the net or social networking. Thirty-three percent revealed they would be in trouble if their parents knew what they were really looking at.”

(Via QuickLinks Update.)

UK – Minister backs code to tackle online sex and violence: “(Guardian)
The government has signalled its support for a common set of standards for internet content in response to worries about the impact of violent and sexual output online. The culture secretary, Andy Burnham, said he wanted to see online content meet the same standards required for television as the boundaries between the two media continue to blur. Television in the UK is governed by the broadcasting code of Ofcom, the media regulator. There is no overall regulation for the internet. See Secretary of State speech to the Convergence Think Tank 11 June 2008.”

(Via QuickLinks Update.)