child pornography and sexual exploitation of children online

gambling). Based on research commissioned by MySpace Fox Interactive conclude that,
“MySpace does not believe that existing age verification systems are effective or reliable
when used to prevent inappropriate contact, access to inappropriate content, or reduction
of predators from free sites, including social networking sites. Age verification systems can
in fact add significant privacy and safety complexities to the environment, and may pose
new risks to teens”.
The focus instead has been on educating users about safer online practices and providing
tools to enhance the online safety of users. The tools listed by the document include:
1. a registration page that requires prospective members to enter their exact birth
date, and individuals who enter a date that does not meet the requisite age are not
permitted to register;
2. a session cookie on the registration page so that a prospective member cannot change
his/her age if the initial age was below that specified in our terms of service.;
3. to combat a situation where a teen under 14 lies about his or her age, MySpace
employs a search algorithm, utilising terms commonly used by underage users, to
find and delete underage profiles. The site is scanned for such terms and the database
of search terms is updated to reflect changes in user behaviour and terminology;
4. profiles that have been reported by MySpace members or parents as belonging
to an underage user also are reviewed by MySpace. Whenever an underage user
is identified, the profile is deleted. MySpace similarly will remove members if it
believes they are over 18 and they represent themselves as under 18.
This clearly demonstrates that the IT industry has responded to many of the challenges
made in relation to child safety, but again it was difficult to secure information about how
many profiles are deleted and for what reasons, and what impact these measures are having
on the actual behaviour of both young people and adults.
On a cautionary note, while the IT industry has taken a responsible and increasingly
proactive stance in relation to online child protection, this has largely been voluntary and
self-regulated. One recommendation made in the report by the ICMEC (2007) was in
relation to mandatory reporting of content, whereby a ‘notice and takedown’ requirement
should be enacted within national legislation. The report also suggests that consideration
should be given to statutory protocols that would allow ISPs to report child pornography
fully and effectively (including the transmission of images) to law enforcement agencies
or another designated body. This is something of a challenge. In the US, the Protection of
Children from Sexual Predators Act of 1998 placed new responsibilities on all US electronic
services and remote computing service providers. ISPs must report to law enforcement
agencies knowledge of facts or circumstances from which a violation of specified offences
Child Pornography and Sexual Exploitation of Children Online |101