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<strong>Child</strong> PornograPhy First report oF the Dutch NatioNal rapporteur
3.8.2 Interplay of forces in public-private sector partnerships
Public-private sector partnerships are able to make a substantial contribution towards the tackling of
child pornography. As described below, the partnerships can cause tension between the different forces
at play – comprising the government, private sector, NGOs and Internet community – as these actors
have their own views as to which model of Internet governance should be used to combat child pornography
on the Internet.
Internet governance 757
The Internet provides many positive opportunities for users, but can also have negative consequences,
such as the distribution of child abuse material. Combating cybercrime and illegal content – including
child abuse material– is a matter of Internet governance. 758 One of the functions of Internet governance
is to develop a policy that is focussed on the users of the Internet and not on the technology as such.
Since the Internet now has an international, cross-border character, Internet governance takes place via
multilateral actors, including international organisations. 759
Multiple models of Internet governance currently exist side by side. 760 The ‘cyber authority’ model is
based on the notion that there need to be central points in order to keep the Internet clean. These
services could, for example, disconnect individual computers or parts of the Internet or put these ‘into
quarantine’. 761 Another approach is the ‘self-cleaning Internet’ model, which involves a community
of volunteers systematically recording and monitoring threats and vulnerabilities. Since Internet participants
gain insights – and trouble – into and from these harmful elements, they also develop and
implement countermeasures themselves. 762 In addition to this, the ‘model of economic market forces’
exists, based on the idea that Internet governance can be best achieved by market mechanisms and
private partners. 763
In addition to legislation and regulations, a variety of ideas exist within the realm of government, which
link in with the first model, such as blocking child abuse material and the (possible) establishment of
757 Mathiason et al. (2004, p.8) defines Internet governance as follows: “collective action, by governments
and/ or the private sector operators of the networks connected by the Internet, to establish agreements
about the standards, policies, rules, and enforcement and dispute resolution procedures to apply to
global internetworking activities.”
758 Report of the Working Group on Internet Governance, 2005, p.6.
759 Mathiason et al., 2004, pp.10-11. A similar formal institution is the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is responsible for issuing top-level domain names such as.nl and.
com. The issuing of the.xxx domain name by ICANN is directed specifically at (adult) pornographic
websites, so that it is easier to monitor such websites, see ‘Why ICANN’s Approval of the XXX domain
is an important precedent’ by Milton Mueller, 19 March 2011, blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2011/3/19/4775146.html
(viewed 7 June 2011).
760 Solum, 2009.
761 www.nligf.nl/index.php/agenda/P0/publiek_debat_internet_governance_controleren_of_vertrouwen
(viewed 24 May 2011).
762 www.nligf.nl/index.php/agenda/P0/publiek_debat_internet_governance_controleren_of_vertrouwen
(viewed 24 May 2011).
763 Solum, 2009, pp.75-86.