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<strong>Child</strong> PornograPhy First report oF the Dutch NatioNal rapporteur
Four aspects of the Internet that also exert an influence upon the phenomenon of child pornography
are the end-to-end principle, the use of open standards, the global nature of the Internet, and the
private market. 77 This last aspect of the Internet entails that networks are owned and administrated
by autonomous organisations, primarily from the private sector. For this reason, governments have,
in principle, little control over the Internet. The global nature of the Internet means that it is not
bound by national boundaries, and that data, such as child abuse material in digital format, is sent
irrespective of political and territorial borders. This also means that the perpetrators, (potential)
victims and material can come into contact with one another more easily, more quickly and more
often. 78 The fact that perpetrators and victims can find one another all over the world is also related to
the aspects of common standards. The Internet can be accessed openly and freely by anyone. <strong>Child</strong>ren
from Mid-Eastern Europe, for example, who are vulnerable due a low socio-economic status can also
be found on the Internet. 79 The Internet is also based upon the end-to-end principle. 80 This means
that it was designed as a neutral, transparent and very simple communication channel. All complex
software and other functions for receiving and processing data are contained (in equipment) at the
end of the network. In short, the Internet, as the communication channel, does not discriminate: as
far as the Internet is concerned, digital child abuse material is data that is no different to any other
data. For this reason, the term ‘trade in (criminal) information’ is also sometimes used. 81 Data is not
carried through a central point, but can take innumerable routes through the network structure.
The fact that the data is located at the ends of the network means that the activities of management,
monitoring and surveillance of the network are extremely difficult, and that attention should rather
be focused upon the computer and users at the opposite ends of the network. 82 The question of how
to achieve an acceptable form of management, monitoring and surveillance 83 , whilst retaining the
aforementioned characteristics of the Internet, falls within the scope of Internet governance 84 (as
do the regulations with regard to digital child abuse material), which will be examined in greater
detail in §3.8.
Cyber and/or high-tech crime
As we have shown above, ICT can also be misused by individuals in order to obtain or distribute abusive
images and films and in order to contact children with the intention of abusing them or producing
child abuse material. When ICT is used to commit criminal offences, it is referred to as cybercrime, ICT
and computer crime, or high-tech crime. 85 In this context, the report only uses the terms ‘cybercrime’
and ‘high-tech crime’. The Hightech Crime Criminaliteitsbeeldanalyse 2009 (CBA) [High-tech Crime Picture
Analysis] describes cybercrime as “any criminal act aimed at committing cybercrime, in which the use of automated
function in the processing and transfer of data is of significant importance”. 86 The literature makes a distinction
77 Mathiason et al., 2004, p.7; Solum, 2009, p.50.
78 Davidson & Gottschalk, 2011, p.28.
79 ECPAT International, 2008.
80 Taylor & Quayle, 2006, p.172 call this principle ‘edge-to-edge’.
81 Van der Hulst & Neve, 2008, pp.50-51.
82 Taylor & Quayle, 2006, p.173.
83 Lessig, 2001.
84 Solum, 2009, p.48
85 Mulder et al., 2010, pp.259-286.
86 KLPD – <strong>National</strong> Crime Squad, 2010 (not publicly available).