413047-Underground-Commercial-Sex-Economy

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing
With P2P networks, users can designate which files they wish to share for other users on the network to
download. While some programs allow users to preview files, often the filename and size is the only
information available prior to download. Current P2P networks operate without a centralized server,
enabling computers to download material directly from each other. Respondents named P2P networks
including GigaTribe, Gnutella, and eMule. Software to access files are called P2P clients, and respondents
used two common clients, Frostwire and Limewire. While P2P networks are generally for file sharing,
newer P2P networks such as GigaTribe have a social aspect, as users can create private networks and chat
online.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
Through IRC, users can participate in group chats and communicate directly with individuals. Group
discussion forums, known as channels, can be private, secret, or password protected to allow greater
security. Channel operators—users who manage the channel—have the ability to ban others and create
bots, programs which can be used for added control. IRC was primarily designed for communication, not
file sharing, but users can set up a file server (fserve) to transfer files between users. File servers are run
by an fserve owner and often are ratio-based, prohibiting users from downloading more bytes than they
upload. Respondents mentioned mIRC as the primary client and listed IRC networks including EFnet,
Undernet, and DALnet.
Websites
A United Nations report estimated that the number of websites hosting child pornography grew from
261,653 in 2001 to 480,000 in 2004 (Maalla 2009). However, child pornography sites are extremely
difficult to detect since they are frequently temporary and can simply consist of a password protected zip
archive (Jenkins 2001).
Two respondents used common search engines to find child pornography sites; one respondent used
Tumblr blogs, and one respondent mentioned a one-click hosting website, Rapidshare. One-click hosting
websites, which allows users to quickly upload folders of files, were found by the Internet Watch
Foundation to be responsible for 60 percent of the 9,550 child pornography webpages they identified in
2012 (Internet Watch Foundation 2012).
Newsgroups
Usenet is comprised of over 100,000 newsgroups, or discussion forums, where users can post messages
and other files, including images. Usenet newsreaders allow users to search newsgroups for specific files.
Jenkins (2001) lists 16 newsgroups known for providing child pornography, the most notorious being
alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.pre-teen or abpep-t. Jenkins quotes a newsgroup post which states that
abpep-t gets between 5,000 to 7,000 posts a week. To access these posts, users must find servers which
can access these newsgroups, as many Internet service providers have dropped newsgroups (Jenkins
2001; Segan 2008). The Internet Watch Foundation has a list of 303 newsgroups they recommend servers
do not carry, because they are known to contain child pornography (Internet Watch Foundation 2012).
Chat Rooms, Instant, and/or Video Messaging
Offender respondents mentioned the chat program ICQ and ICUII, as well as AOL, Yahoo, and
Compuserve chat rooms. Law enforcement stakeholders mentioned an increased popularity of live
streaming video chat rooms, such as Stickam and MeetMe (formerly myYearbook), which can host selfproduced
child pornography.
Stakeholders reported that Skype and video chat sites enabling self-directed abuse through a third party,
viewed as live child pornography, have become a recent trend. These sites usually involve payment, as
described by one federal law enforcement official:
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