Essay About Child Pornography And Use Of A Minor

Child Pornography on the Internet
Essay title: Child Pornography on the Internet
James Noble
ISC 300
Child Pornography on the Internet
In this new age of Information, the Internet has made all types of
information readily available. Some of this information can be very useful,
some can be malicious. Child pornography, also known as Paedophilia is
one of these problems. Any one person can find child pornography on the
internet with just a few clicks of the mouse using any search engine.
Despite webmasters and law enforcement officials efforts to control child
pornography and shut down illegal sites, new sites are posted using
several ways to mask their identity.
The Internet provides a new world for curious children. It offers
entertainment, opportunities for education, information and communication.
The Internet is a tool that opens a window of opportunities. As Internet
use grows, so do the risks of children being exposed to inappropriate
material, in particular, criminal activity by paedophiles and child
pornographers.
Many children first come in contact with the Internet at a very young
age. Some children become victims of child pornography through close
relatives who may have abused them. Some children become involved
with chat services or newsgroup threads. It is usually through these sites
that they meet child pornographers. Children may be asked to send
explicit pictures of themselves taken either by a digital camera or scanned
from a polaroid. The pornographer will then post the pictures on their web
site, sometimes hiding them through encryption, steganography or
password protecting them using a javascript or applet.
Certain efforts have been made to control child pornography
through legislation. In 1977 the Sexual Exploitation of Children Act was
put into Legislation. (U.S. Code : Title 18, Section 2251-2253) The law
prohibits the use of a minor in the making of pornography, the transport of
a child across state lines, the taking of a pornographic picture of a minor,
and the production and circulation of materials advertising child
pornography. It also prohibits the transfer, sale, purchase, and receipt of
minors when the purpose of such transfer, sale, purchase, or receipt is to
use the child or youth in the production of child pornography. The
transportation, importation, shipment, and receipt of child pornography by
any interstate means, including by mail or computer, is also prohibited.
The Child Protection Act of 1984 (U.S. Code : Title 18, Section 2251-2255)
defines anyone younger than the age of 18 as a child. Therefore, a
sexually explicit photograph of anyone 17 years of age or younger is child
pornography. On November 7, 1986, the U.S. Congress enacted the Child
Sexual Abuse and Pornography Act (U.S. Code : Title 18, Section
2251-2256) that banned the production and use of advertisements for child
pornography and included a provision for civil remedies of personal injuries
suffered by a minor who