413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

Technology
It is widely accepted that currently, the Internet provides the primary medium for acquisition and
distribution of child pornography. Though a stakeholder from the US Postal Service reported a shift back
to mail distribution methods as a result of increased Internet monitoring, only one offender in our sample
ever distributed or purchased child pornography through the mail.
Over the last twenty years, the rapid increase in Internet use has profoundly affected the availability,
affordability, and anonymity of obtaining child pornography. These three A’s, identified by Al Cooper
(2002) as the “Triple A Engine,” fuel addiction for online sexual activity and were found to be powerful
factors in offenders’ explanations of what contributed to their online behavior to download and share
child pornography.
Offenders used the Internet to access child pornography during different time periods and for different
lengths of time. All of the offenders collected at some points in the 2000s, with 10 (48 percent) collecting
in the early 2000s and 14 (62 percent) collecting during the late 2000s. Three respondents (14 percent)
began collecting in the late 1990s. Offenders reported collecting child pornography for varied amounts of
time, ranging from one month to fifteen years, with a third (33 percent) collecting for over five years.
Websites and Programs
Offenders named eight methods to acquire online child pornography. From most to least common, these
include peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P), Internet relay chat (IRC), websites, newsgroups, chat rooms, the
deep web, bulletin boards, and social network platforms (see table 9.2). Less than a third (n = 6, 29
percent) of respondents only used one method, the majority used multiple techniques to download child
pornography. An individual’s chosen medium generally depended on his online experience, technological
savvy, and communication preferences. A discussion of the networking aspect of child pornography is
provided later within this chapter. The majority (86 percent) of offenders who collected over a five year
period used different methods, often changing due to different technological advancements or perceived
security.
Table 9.2 Collection Methods
Method
Frequency %
(n)
Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing 43% (9)
Internet relay chat (IRC) 38% (8)
Websites 33% (7)
Newsgroups 33% (7)
Chat rooms, instant and/or video
messaging 24% (5)
Deep Web 14% (3)
Bulletin Boards 10% (2)
Social network platform 10% (2)
Description
P2P networks connect computers, which act as both clients and
servers, to enable file sharing between hard drives.
IRCs enable chatting through instant messaging and group forums,
called channels, as well as contain file sharing features.
Child pornography websites may be temporary and require
passwords. Individuals may find these sites through chatting,
bulletin boards, or newsgroups.
Usenet, the largest newsgroup network, consists of thousands of
discussion newsgroups where users can post images or movies and
disseminate information about other sources of child pornography.
Programs such as ICQ, ICUII, Yahoo, and AOL chat support group
and private chatting, often with the capability of video chat. Chat
rooms can be open or private and may have a moderator.
The deep web offers a greater degree of anonymity, as it is not
accessible by major search engines or web browsers. One of the
main ways to access the deep web is Tor.
Bulletin boards provide a discussion forum, where users can
disseminate information about other sites to download child
pornography.
Social networks can enable users to find like-minded members, as
well as chat and share files.
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