STUDY OF OBSCENITY AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ON INTERNET

Criminal Law

Submitted by

Ankita Sharma

SF0113009

5th Year (9th Semester)

National Law University, Assam

 Contents

Particulars Page Number

Table of Cases ……………………………………….……………........………………………..iii

Table of Statutes……………………………………….………………........……………………iii

Table of Abbreviations………………………………….…………….……......………………...iv

Introduction………………………………………...………………….............................……......1

Research problem…………………………………………………………….……......…..………2

Scope and Objectives ………………………………….……………..……...................................3

Review of Literature……..…………………….…………………………….................................4

Research Methods……………………………………..………………………………………......5

 Types Of Research
 Types Of Data

Obscenity on the Cyber World.....................................................................................................7

 Cyber Obscenity.................................................................................................................7
 Origin and History of the Cyber Obscenity....................................................................8
 Meaning and Definition of Cyber Obscenity...................................................................8
 Cyber Obscenity as a Crime.............................................................................................9
 Test of Cyber Obscenity..................................................................................................10
 Cyber Obscenity in India................................................................................................10
 Prohibition of Publishing or Imparting Obscene Material under Various
Laws..................................................................................................................................11
 Cyber Obscenity under Various Legislations in India.................................................12
 Punishment under Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act and Indecent
Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.................................................................13
 Impact of Cyber Obscenity on the Society....................................................................15

i
Child Pornography on Internet..................................................................................................16

 The Problem of Internet Child Pornography................................................................16

 The Role of the Internet in Promoting Child Pornography.........................................18
 Components of the Problem............................................................................................18

- Production
- Distribution
- Downloading
 Extent of the Problem......................................................................................................22
 Profile of Users.................................................................................................................23
- A Psychological Typology
- An Offending Typology
 Effects of Child Pornography.........................................................................................26
- Effects on the Children Portrayed
- Effects on Users
 The Internet and Other Forms of Child Sexual Abuse................................................28

Study of Child Pornography on Internet under the Indian Context......................................29

 Recent Incidents in India................................................................................................31

 Indian Case Studies.........................................................................................................31
 Indian Law Regulating Child Pornography..................................................................32

Challenges Solutions and Suggestions........................................................................................34

 Challenges in Controlling Internet Child Pornography..............................................34

 Solution and Suggestions.................................................................................................35

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………............41

Bibliography………...…………………………………………………………............................vi

Table of Cases

ii
 Avnish Bajaj v. State (N.C.T.) of Delhi 116(2005) DLT427..........................................................11
Chandrakant Kalyandas Kakodkar v. State of Maharashtra AIR 1970 SC 1390.........................10
Freedy Peats v. India, 1996 (Session Case No. 24 of 1992)...................................................29, 31
Jacobellis v.Ohio 378 U.S. 184 (1964)..........................................................................................07
Miller v California 413 U.S. 15 (1973).........................................................................................10
Raj Kapoor v. State AIR 1980 SC 258..........................................................................................07
Ranjit Udeshi v. State of Maharashtra AIR 1965 SC 881.............................................................10
Regina v. Hicklin, L.R. 3 Q.B. 360 (1868)....................................................................................08
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union 521 U.S. 844 (1997)......................................................11
Samresh Bose v. Amal Mitra (1985) 4 SCC 289...........................................................................11
State of Tamil Nadu v. Dr L. Prakash 2002 Cri L J 2596.............................................................11
Wilhelmus Weijdeveld v. India 2009..............................................................................................32

Table of Statues

2000 - Information Technology Act

1950 - Constitution of India

1973 - Code of Criminal Procedure

1860 - Indian Penal Code

1898 - Indian Post Office Act

1996 - Communications Decency Act

1986 - Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act

2003 - U.S. General Accounting Office

Sexual Exploitation of Children Act

Table of Abbreviation

iii
AIR All India Reporter

Anr Another

BBS Bulletin Board Systems

CJI Chief Justice of India

CrPC Code of Criminal Procedure

CPC Code of Civil Procedure

Del Delhi

E-Commerce Electronic Commerce

Ed. Edition

ILR Indian Law Review

IPC Indian Penal Code

ISPs Internet Service Providers

IT Information Technology

Ltd. Limited

NSF' National Science Foundation

Or. Order

Ors. Others

R. Rule

RSACi Recreational Software Advisory Council on the Internet

SC Supreme Court

SCC Supreme Court Cases

iv
SCR Supreme Court Reporter

UOI Union of India

v. Versus

Vol. Volume

v
INTRODUCTION

What had started as a visionary thinking by people in early 1960’s to share information on
research and development in scientific and military fields has now after a decade after
browsers came into popular use, the internet has reached into – and in some cases reshaped –
just about every important realm of modern life. 1 It has changed the way we inform
ourselves, amuse ourselves, care for ourselves, educate ourselves, work, shop, and bank, pray
and stay in touch. The online world mirrors the offline world. People bring to the internet the
activities, interest and behaviours that preoccupied them before the web existed. Still, internet
has also enabled new kinds of activities that no one ever dreamed of doing before- certainly
not in the way people are doing them now.

The online population has grown rapidly; its composition has changed rapidly. At the early
stage, the internet’s user population was dominated by young men who had high incomes and
plenty of education. As it passed the phase of 1999 and 2000, the population went
mainstream, women reached parity and then overtook men online, lots more minority
families joined the party and more people with modest levels of income and education came
online.2

With the growth of modern technologies & advancement of science, information has become
easy to circulate & communicate to the whole of the world. We can easily get the news of an
earthquake or landslide happening in the other part of the world with the help of satellites.
The media has contributed immensely in making this world a compact place & connecting
everyone with fast & easy medium. Earlier delivering news had been difficult & took a lot of
time even when in the same country. With the advent of internet any news can be delivered
just by a click of the mouse in a few seconds to a few minutes. With the developing media &
becoming globalized, the content of the news or message that is circulated or delivered has
become much vulnerable. A world cinema which tries to approach the audience in the whole
world at large, made in a western country might just hurt the sentiments of people in the
Eastern part of the world who are conservative & may not be able to appreciate the art or
literature or the social message which the film tries to portray. Hence comes regulations in
force to regulate which content would be suitable for display for a particular group of
audience. Though these regulations are also often not the correct test as a neutral body
adjudges it and there can be sections of people even in a conservative group who might
1 Barkha B, Child in Cyber Space, Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2008, P.1.
2 Ibid

1
accept a liberal view unlike others. Obscenity is one of the ingredients which prohibit content
from being screened or displayed. The concept of obscenity is relative. Obscenity has been
discussed and test for obscenity has been laid down by several countries depending on the
moral principles, decency codes & social structure of that particular country.3

Using the internet is the norm for today’s youth. They describe dozens of education related
uses of the internet. Virtually all use the internet to do research, the internet is used as virtual
textbook and reference library, as virtual tutor and study shortcut, as virtual study group, as
virtual guidance counsellor and virtual locker and notebook.

The internet is a tool that can be used for good and evil. The most dangerous section which is
often highlighted is the primary dangers to kids online with the specific focus on the sexual
exploitation of children.

So my thrust in this work is on the study of obscenity and child pornography on internet
identifying the problems and finding solutions thereof, being the ultimate purpose.
But the same cannot be understood without understanding the use of computer in day to day
life, role of internet service provider, legal aspects to handle children’s problems, parental
guidance, the structure and working of various components of the present criminal justice
system of India with reference to the various acts available to combat the rising problem.
At last what I felt is that it is also important to analyze the performance of the criminal
justice administration in preventing the rising problem of obscenity and child pornography on
internet and to analyze the problems faced by different agencies of the criminal justice
administration and suggest solutions thereof.

Research problem

The core area of study which is under taken by the researcher is to study and to make a
comprehensive analysis on the study of obscenity and child pornography on internet and try
to point out the loop holes or the drawbacks which are inherent in the Indian Criminal justice
system and try to analyze the various provisions which deal with the above subject and try to
suggest some recommendation in preventing the rising problem. Hence the research title is
entitled as “Study of obscenity and child pornography on internet”.

Existing Legal Situation

3 Max Taylor, Child Pornography An Internet Crime, 1st edition, P. 21.

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By the mid-1980's, the trafficking of child pornography was almost completely eradicated
through a series of successful campaigns waged by law enforcement. Producing and
reproducing child sexual abuse images was difficult and expensive. Anonymous distribution
and receipt was not possible, and it was difficult for paedophiles to find and interact with
each other. For these reason, child pornographers became lonely and hunted individuals
because the purchasing and trading of such images was extremely risky.

Unfortunately, the child pornography market exploded in the advent of the Internet and
advanced digital technology. The Internet provides ground for individuals to create, access,
and share child sexual abuse images worldwide at the click of a button. Child pornography
images are readily available through virtually every Internet technology including websites,
email, instant messaging/ICQ, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), newsgroups, bulletin boards, peer-
to-peer networks, and social networking sites.

Child pornography offenders can connect on Internet forums and networks to share their
interests, desires, and experiences abusing children in addition to selling, sharing, and trading
images.

Scope and Objectives

The topic “Study of obscenity and child pornography on internet .” has a very wide scope. But
the researcher is mainly focusing on some of the specific areas such as the background which
led to the establishment of child pornography market, role of internet service provider,
meaning of obscenity and the various Indian laws which are applicable against obscenity, the
legal aspects to handle children’s problem, parental guidance. Also the researcher is limiting
the study only to books, articles, journals and web sources.

 To study and analyze the growth of child pornography market.

 To discuss the various provisions present in the various acts in relation to the study of
obscenity and child pornography on internet.
 To discuss the live online sexual abuse for paying customers.
 To analyze the legal position on obscenity under the Indian context.
 To discuss the challenges in controlling internet child pornography.
 To explore and analyze the legal aspects to prevent the rising problem.
 To suggest certain recommendation for providing parental guidance to combat the
rising problem.

3
Literature Review

 Barkha B, Child in Cyber Space, Asia Law House, 2008.

The book talks about the advantages of the Internet in a competitive world and the fast paced
technology grooms a child well when the goodness of the Internet is used properly. With so
many advantages to its credit the book also addresses the issue that the world of internet is a
boon to the children not only for their educational purpose but also for their relaxation and
entertainment through the world of music available free of cost through different sites. The
book also discussed about the role of the internet in the development of a child. The book
extensively talks about that Internet are also a tool which can be used for evil purposes. The
increasing use of internet by children has exposed them to several detrimental influences
from outside the home which has unfortunate and fatal outcomes. The book also discusses
about the awareness programmes to be undertaken by the elders or parental guidance about
the superfluous nature of the evil instead of combating with such children.
 Max Taylor and Ethel Quayle, Child pornography: An Internet Crime, 1 edition,
Routledge, 2003.
The book extensively deals with the child pornography. Child pornography, particularly that
available via the Internet, has become a cause of huge social concern in recent years. This
book also examines the reality behind the often hysterical media coverage of the topic. It also
examines how child pornography is used on the Internet and the social context in which such
use occurs, and develops a model of offending behaviour to better help understand and deal
with the processes of offending. The book also deals with detailed case studies and offenders'
own accounts to illustrate the processes involved in offending and treatment. The book also
argues that there is a need to refine ideas of offending, and that while severe deterrents need
to be associated with possession of child pornography, a better understanding is needed of the
links between possession and committing a contact offence. Only by improving
understanding of this complex and very controversial topic measures can be developed to
deal effectively with offenders and with their child victims. This book is essential for those
persons involved with offenders or victims from a psychological, judicial or social
background.
 Ayani Srivastava and Avani Chokshi, “I know it when I see it” - Obscenity and the
Indian Judiciary”, NLUJ Law Review, Issue 1, Volume 3, 2015.

4
The article talks about the law on obscenity which is, at present, a murky domain, and is
vulnerable to exploitation by political parties and dominant social groups for the furtherance
of their self-perpetuating propaganda. The article also deals with the study of obscenity laws
of various jurisdictions and analysed them in the context of the Indian legal position. A
critical appraisal of the most recent judgement on obscenity, Aveek Sarkar v. Union of India,
has been undertaken so as to comprehensively understand and scrutinise the contemporary
requirements for a reform in the legislative provisions. The article also talks about the
inconsistencies and ambiguities in the law on obscenity, where there is a need for a
substantive overhaul of the law. The article concludes with a detailed section on
recommendations and certain suggestions in the form of broad guidelines and a test,
adherence to which, would lead to a more rational, just and progressive application of the law
on obscenity.

 Kamini Dashora, Cyber Crime in the Society: Problems and Preventions, Journal of
Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, Vol. 3, No 1 (2011), pp. 240-259.
The article states that the world of internet today has become a parallel form of life and
living. Public are now capable of doing things which were not imaginable few years ago. The
Internet is fast becoming a way of life for millions of people and also a way of living because
of growing dependence and reliance of the mankind on these machines. Internet has enabled
the use of website communication, email and a lot of anytime anywhere IT solutions for the
betterment of human kind. The article also talks about Cyber crime as an emerging serious
threat. Worldwide governments, police departments and intelligence units have started to take
action. Initiatives are also been taken to curb cross border cyber threats. Indian police has
initiated special cyber cells across the country and have started educating the personnel. This
article provides a glimpse on cyber crime in society.

Research Methodology
Types of Research

The researcher conducted Doctrinal type of research to collect proper data and to gather
appropriate information. The use of library sources and internet sources has greatly
supplemented our research. Various books, articles, journals pertaining to the subject (as
mentioned in the Literature Review and Bibliography) have been immensely helpful in
guiding our research.

5
Types of Data

To ensure a quality study of the subject matter, the researchers collected the following two
types of data: -

(a) Primary Data- The researchers collected the primary data by going into statutory laws
such as Information Technology Act, 2000, etc
(b) Secondary Data: Though primary data is very valuable and precious; still the
importance of the secondary data cannot be overlooked. So, the researchers also
collected secondary data through various books, articles, reports, journals and other
sources.

OBSCENITY ON THE CYBER WORLD

6
Cyber Obscenity

“The world's greatest paintings, sculptures, songs and dances, India's lustrous heritage, the
Konaraks and Khajurahos, lofty epics, luscious in patches, may be asphyxiated by law, if
prudes and prigs and State moralists prescribe paradigms and proscribe heterodoxies.”4

The law on ‘obscenity’ is one of the areas where criminal and constitutional law converge to
form what has been proven to be one of the most significant restrictions on the Right to Free
Speech across the globe. Obscenity is also one of the most obscure and conflicted legal terms.
There have been numerous judgements and legislations that have tried, and failed to clearly
demarcate the contours of obscenity.5
Justice Stewart, of the United States Supreme Court, when faced with the task of defining
obscenity, eloquently and infamously expressed this difficulty, in the concurring opinion of
Jacobellis v. Ohio,6 stating “I know it when I see it.7
The Internet has given rise to a new industry for the online publication and consumption of
obscene materials. Millions of people around the world are visiting web-sites catering to this
product. These Internet sites represent the largest growth sector of the digital economy.
Obscenity is very sensitive issue all over the world yet there is no settled definition of the
word ‘obscenity' under any law. What is nude art or sexually explicit thing for one person
may be obscene or porn for another. Obscenity on the Internet is not a common crime.
Internet has provided a medium for the facilitation of crimes like obscenity or
pornography. Cyber obscenity is the trading of sexually expressive materials within cyber
space.
Although the Indian Constitution guarantees the fundamental right of freedom of speech and
expression; it has been held that a law against obscenity is constitutional. The Supreme Court
has defined obscene as “offensive to modesty or decency; lewd, filthy, repulsive”. It is very
difficult to testify whether any pornographic material is illegal or not? One particular
pornographic material may be illegal in India but not in other countries. The test for obscenity
was first laid down the Regina v. Hicklin,8 as a tendency to deprave and corrupt those whose

4 Raj Kapoor v. State, AIR 1980 SC 258.

5 Robert C. McClure, Obscenity and the Law, 56-9 AMERICAN LIBRARY ARCHIVES BULLETIN 806-810
(1962).
6 Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964).
7 Ibid
8 Regina v. Hicklin, L.R. 3 Q.B. 360 (1868)

7
minds are open to such immoral influences and into whose hands a publication of this sort
may fall.”

Origin and History of the Cyber Obscenity

The depiction of explicit acts is as old as the civilization itself. But the modern concept of
obscenity i.e. cyber obscenity was come after the invention of Internet. The Internet was
created in the mid 1980's by the National Science Foundation ("NSF') which funded the fiber-
optic links that formed the backbone of the Internet. Initially, the Internet was mostly limited
to users who had a job-related electronic mail account on a computer run by their employer.
In 1991, the NSF lifted restrictions against commercial use. Today, the Internet is available to
anyone with a personal computer, modem and telephone line. Though obscenity was already
present in society in the form of books, magazines or videos. But after the invention of the
internet these are made available within the virtual space i.e. cyber space. After making
available these obscene materials in the internet, these are very near to the users. Therefore at
present time cyber crime viz. cyber obscenity are committing by people of every class of
society in every country.

The legal status of the modern porn industry varies from country to country. Most countries
permit some degree of adult entertainment. While some countries ban the pornography. These
countries are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Bahrain, Egypt, UAE, Kuwait, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Singapore, Kenya, Cuba and India.

Meaning and Definition of Cyber Obscenity

The term ‘Cyber Space’ was first used by William Gibson in his novel ‘Neuromancer’ 1982.
The word Cyber or Cyber Space denotes a virtual environment within which networked
computers’ activity takes place and Obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends
the prevalent morality of the time. Obscenity is a legal term that applies to anything offensive
to morals and is often equated with the term PORNOGRAPHY. Obscenity is derived from the
Latin word obscaena. In R v. Hicklin,9 the word obscene was clearly defined as “Any matter
which has the tendency to deprave or corrupt those whose minds are open to immoral
influence.”

9 Ibid

8
The Hicklin’s test states that a governing body may prohibit anything that "depraves and
corrupts those whose minds are open to such immoral influences and into whose hands a
publication of this sort might fall."
Cyber-obscenity is the trading of sexually expressive materials within cyber space. The cyber
pornography or obscenity debate is very complex because pornography is not necessarily
illegal. The test is the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions is whether or not the materials
are obscene and deprave its viewers, but there are considerable legal and moral differences
regarding the criteria that enable law enforcers to establish obscenity and depravation. 10
According to Supreme Court of India, “the concept of obscenity would differ from country
to country depending on the standards of morals of contemporary society.” And that
obscenity has a tendency to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral
influences.

Cyber Obscenity as a Crime

The term ‘obscenity’ when used in relation to an offence is not defined in any statutes in
India but certain legislations prescribe that ‘obscenity’ in certain circumstances constitutes an
offence. These Legislations are Indian Penal Code, 1860 and The Information Technology
Act, 2000. Although neither the Indian Penal Code nor the Information Technology Act
defines what ‘obscenity’ is, but section 292 of the IPC and section 67 of the IT Act explain
‘obscenity’ to mean “anything which is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if
its effect is tend to deprave and corrupt persons.”11
Explanations:
 Lascivious: is something that tends to excite lust.
 Appeals to: in this context, means “arouses interest”.
 Prurient interest: is characterized by lustful thoughts.
 Effect: means to produce or cause some change or event.
 Tend to deprave and corrupt: in the context of this section means “to lead
someone to become morally bad”.
 Persons: here refers to natural persons (men, women and children) and not
artificial persons.
Therefore according to the law in India, anything that is lascivious or appeals to the prurient
interest or if its effect is to deprave and corrupt persons would be considered to be ‘obscene’.

10 Ishita Chatterjee, Law on information technology, Central law publication, 1st edition, 2014, P.78.
11 Section 292 of IPC and Section 67 of IT Act.

9
Test of Cyber Obscenity

The United States Supreme Court laid down the ‘Miller Test’ in case of Miller v. California.12
It is a three-prong test for obscenity:
(i) Whether the ‘average person’ applying community standards would find the work,
taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
(ii) Whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual
conduct specifically denied by state law;
(iii) Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic,
political or scientific value.

Cyber Obscenity in India

Cyber world is a virtual world or space. There is no territorial limit which differentiates this
crime between the countries. Because in this phase in committing a same crime two or more
countries may involve at the same time. Sometimes it would be very difficult to determine
that which countries’ law should be apply in a particular case. The Indian court adopted the
approach of Common Law.
As in Ranjit Udeshi v. State of Maharashtra13 case Supreme Court established a modified
version of the Hicklin test as the test for obscenity in India. The Supreme Court has observed
that the test of obscenity laid down by Cockburn C.J. in Miller v. California14 should not be
discarded.
In subsequent case the Supreme Court further articulated on the test for obscenity. In
Chandrakant kalyandas kakodkar v. State of Maharashtra, 15 the court held: “What is
obscenity has not been defined either in section 292 of IPC or in any other statute. It only
prohibits or penalizes the mailing, imparting, exporting, publishing and selling of the obscene
matters. It is the duty of the Court to consider the obscene matter by taking an overall view of
the entire work and to determine whether the obscene passages are so likely to deprave and
corrupt those whose minds are open to influences of this short.”
In Samresh Bose v. Amal Mitra16 Supreme Court held that the concept of obscenity would
differ from country to country depending on the standards of morals of contemporary society.

12 Miller v California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973).

13 Ranjit Udeshi v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 1965 SC 881.
14 Ibid
15 Chandrakant kalyandas kakodkar v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 1970 SC 1390.
16 Samresh Bose v. Amal Mitra, (1985) 4 SCC 289.

10
Prohibition of Publishing or Imparting Obscene Material under Various Laws

Attempts to control, restrict and regulate cyber obscenity have completely failed. In the year
1996, the Communications Decency Act was legislated in the United States of America for
the purpose of regulating the pornographic content on the internet to protect minors, which
was met by severe criticism, inter-alia on the arguments of free speech and violation of the
rights of adults. Two provisions of the Communications Decency Act, 1996 sought to protect
minors from harmful material on the internet. One of the provisions sought to criminalize the
“knowing” transmission of “obscene or indecent” messages to any recipient under the age of
18 years.17 The other provision prohibited the “knowing”, sending or displaying to a person
under the age of 18 years any message “that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms
patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory
activities or organs.”18 In case of Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union,19 Supreme Court
held that the aforesaid provisions were violative of the freedom of speech which was
protected by the First Amendment.

In case of Avnish Bajaj vs. State (N.C.T.) of Delhi,20 a MMS clip was sold by this website viz.
Baazi.com. It was informed to the portal. But it was not blocked at 38 hours after being
informed. And the filters those were put up by the website to make filter the unlawful words
also grossly inadequate found in investigation.
Court opined that the prosecution was unable to show that it what stage the MD Avnish Bajaj
was himself directly involved in the screening of listing or its removal. It would me mere
surmise that the petitioner was himself responsible for the offence.
State of Tamil Nadu v. Dr L. Prakash 21 was the landmark case in which Dr. Prakash stood
convicted of manipulating his patients in various ways, forcing them to commit sex acts on
camera and posting the pictures and videos on the Internet. He was sentenced to life
imprisonment in a case pertaining to online obscenity.

Cyber Obscenity under Various Legislations in India

17 Sec. 223(a) (1)(B)(ii) of Communications Decency Act, 1996.

18 Sec. 223 (d) of Communications Decency Act, 1996.
19 Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997).
20 Avnish Bajaj vs. State (N.C.T.) of Delhi, 116(2005) DLT427.
21 State of Tamil Nadu v. Dr L. Prakash, 2002 Cri L J 2596.

11
Obscenity is an offence under the Indian Penal Code. Section 292 of the IPC
comprehensively sets out the circumstances in which ‘obscenity’ is an offence. According to
section 292(1) says that any activity i.e.(a) sale, hire, distribution, public exhibition or
circulation, makes, produces or has the possession of any obscene book, pamphlet, paper,
drawing, painting, representation, or figure or any other obscene object whatsoever or (b)
import, export or convey any obscene object for any of the purposes mentioned aforesaid, or
knowing or having reason to believe that such obscene object will be sold, let to hire,
distributed or publicly exhibited or in any manner out into circulation, or (c) taking part in or
receiving profits from any business in the course of which any such obscene objects are, for
any of the purposes aforesaid, made, produced, purchased, kept, imported, exported,
conveyed, publicly exhibited or in any manner put into circulation, or (d) advertises or makes
known by any means whatsoever that any person is engaged or is ready to engage in any act
or that any such obscene object can be procured from or through any person or (e) offer or
attempt to do any act, are the offence under section 292 of IPC.22

Obscenity is also an offence under the Information Technology Act 2000. Section 67 of the
Information Technology Act lays down the law that obscenity is an offence when it is
published or transmitted or caused to be published in any electronic form.23
 Published: The Oxford dictionary defines publish as "make generally known;
announce formally promulgate, issue copies for sale to public."
 Transmitted: The Oxford dictionary defines transmission as "pass on, hand on,
transfer, communicate, allow passing through, being a medium for, serve to
communicate (signal etc.)"
 Caused to be published: Cause means to produce an effect. To cause to be published
means to produce the effect of publishing. It is apparent that the term 'cause to be
published' would cover the job performed by the Web server. A web server causes
material to be published over the Internet.

The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986 prohibits indecent

representation of women. Section 2(C) of the Indecent Representation of Women
(Prohibition) Act defines indecent representation of women as "the depiction in any manner
of the figure of a woman, her form or body or any part thereof in such a way as to have the

22 Section 292 of IPC.

23 Section 67 of IT Act.

12
effect of being indecent, or derogatory to, or denigrating, women, or is likely to deprave,
corrupt or injure the public morality or morals."24
This Act prohibits any publication, exhibition, advertisements, produce or cause to be
produced, sale, let to hire, distribute or circulate containing indecent representation of women
and the publication or sending by post any books, pamphlets, slide, film, writing, drawing,
painting, photograph, representation or figure in any form containing indecent representation
of women.

Punishment under Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act and Indecent
Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act

The punishment for an offence under section 292 of the IPC is on first conviction with
imprisonment (simple or rigorous) for a term which may extend to two years, and with fine
which may extend to two thousand rupees, and in the event of a second or subsequent
conviction, with imprisonment (simple or rigorous) for a term which may extend to five
years, and also with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees.25

The punishments are provided under Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 in
different phases-
 Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic Form:
Section 67 of Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 says, whoever
publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted in the electronic form
any material which contains sexually explicit act or conduct shall be punished on first
conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to
five years and with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees and in the event of
second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term
which may extend to seven years and also with fine which may extend to ten lakh
rupees.26
 Punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually
explicit act in electronic form: Section 67 of Information Technology (Amendment)
Act, 2008 says, whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published or

24 Section 2(c) of Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.

25 Section 292 of IPC.
26 Section 67 of IT Act.

13
 transmitted in the electronic form any material which contains sexually explicit act or
conduct shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description
for a term which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to ten lakh
rupees and in the event of second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of
either description for a term which may extend to seven years and also with fine
which may extend to ten lakh rupees.
 Punishment for publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in
sexually explicit act in electronic form: Section 67 of Information Technology
(Amendment) Act, 2008 says, whoever,
a. publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted material in
any electronic form which depicts children engaged in sexually explicit act
or conduct, or
b. creates text or digital images, collects, seeks, browses, downloads,
advertises, promotes, exchanges or distributes material in any electronic
form depicting children in obscene or indecent or sexually explicit manner,
or
c. cultivates, entices or induces children to online relationship with one or
more children for and on sexually explicit act or in a manner that may offend
a reasonable adult on the computer resource, or
d. facilitates abusing children online, or
e. records in any electronic form own abuse or that of others pertaining to
sexually explicit act with children, shall be punished on first conviction with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years
and with a fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees and in the event of
second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for
a term which may extend to seven years and also with fine which may
extend to ten lakh rupees:

Section 6 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act says that Any person
who contravenes the provisions of this Act shall be punishable on first conviction with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, and with fine
which may extend to two thousand rupees, and in the event of a second or subsequent
conviction with imprisonment for term of not less than six months but which may extend to

14
five years and also with a fine not less than ten thousand rupees but which may extend to one
lakh rupees.27

Impact of Cyber Obscenity on the Society

Internet has now become the most venomous and dangerous enemy of man and society.
Though it opens a world full of knowledge and information, its uses are exploited
unnecessarily to do criminal activities and also those which are illegal in nature and this is the
reason why we compare technologies to a coin, that is, like a coin technologies also have two
sides, the head being the advantageous part and the tail being the disadvantageous part.
Cyber crimes against people include a variety of different offenses. Harassment is very
common and easily done within a chat room or via email. This may include physical and
sexual threats, name-calling and obscene language. The trafficking of sexually explicit
material includes pornography of adults and children. In serious cases, the Internet is used to
locate individuals, meet them in person and commit serious crimes such as rape or murder
once the perpetrators are in contact with the victim.28
The crime viz. cyber obscenity corrupts the mind of the people. It makes greater side-effect
on the minds of the children and the youth generation. And by the obscene material i.e.
images, videos, or any other thing affect the honour of those person whose images or videos
or names are used to do this business of obscenity.

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ON INTERNET

27 Section 6 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.

28 Vakul sharma,“Information Technology Law and Practice”, 2005, Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd,
Delhi, p. 186.

15
The Internet is being highly used by its abusers to reach and abuse children sexually,
worldwide. The internet is very fast becoming a household commodity in India. Its explosion
has made the children a viable victim to the cyber crime. As more homes have access to
internet, more children would be using the internet and more are the chances of falling victim
to the aggression of paedophiles.29

The easy access to the pornographic contents readily and freely available over the internet
lowers the inhibitions of the children. Paedophiles lure the children by distributing
pornographic material, then they try to meet them for sex or to take their nude photographs
including their engagement in sexual positions. Sometimes Paedophiles contact children in
the chat rooms posing as teenagers or a child of similar age, and then they start becoming
friendlier with them and win their confidence. Then slowly paedophiles start sexual chat to
help children shed their inhibitions about sex and then call them out for personal interaction.
Then starts actual exploitation of the children by offering them some money or falsely
promising them good opportunities in life. The paedophiles then sexually exploit the children
either by using them as sexual objects or by taking their pornographic pictures in order to sell
those over the internet.30

In physical world, parents know the face of dangers and they know how to avoid & face the
problems by following simple rules and accordingly they advice their children to keep away
from dangerous things and ways. But in case of cyber world, most of the parents do not
themselves know about the basics in internet and dangers posed by various services offered
over the internet.31 Hence the children are left unprotected in the cyber world. Paedophiles
take advantage of this situation and lure the children, who are not advised by their parents or
by their teachers about what is wrong and what is right for them while browsing the internet.

The Problem of Internet Child Pornography

The researcher begins by describing the problem and reviewing factors that increase the risks
of Internet child pornography. It then identifies a series of questions that might assist in
analyzing local Internet child pornography problem.
The treatment of children as sexual objects has existed through the ages, and so too has the
production of erotic literature and drawings involving children. However, pornography in the

29 Barkha .B, Child in Cyber Space, Asia Law House, Hyderabad,2008,p.39.

30 Ibid
31 Ibid.p.77.

16
modern sense began with the invention of the camera in the early nineteenth century. Almost
immediately, sexualized images involving children were produced, traded, and collected. 32
Even so, child pornography remained a restricted activity through most of the twentieth
century. Images were usually locally produced, of poor quality, expensive, and difficult to
obtain. The relaxation of censorship standards in the 1960s led to an increase in the
availability of child pornography, and, by 1977, some 250 child pornography magazines were
circulating in the United States, many imported from Europe.33
Despite concern about the extent of child pornography, law enforcement agencies had
considerable success in stemming the trafficking of these traditional hard-copy forms.
However, the advent of the Internet in the 1980s dramatically changed the scale and nature of
the child pornography problem, and has required new approaches to investigation and
control.
Internet child pornography is unlike most crimes local police departments handle. Local
citizens may access child pornography images that were produced and/or stored in another
city or on another continent. Alternatively, they may produce or distribute images that are
downloaded by people thousands of miles away. An investigation that begins in one police
district will almost certainly cross jurisdictional boundaries. Therefore, most of the major
investigations of Internet child pornography have involved cooperation among jurisdictions,
often at an international level.
However, within this broader scheme, local police departments have a crucial role to play. By
concentrating on components of the problem that occur within their local jurisdictions, they
may uncover evidence that initiates a wider investigation. Alternatively, they may receive
information from other jurisdictions about offenders in their districts. Because of the
increasing use of computers in society, most police departments are likely to encounter
Internet child pornography crimes. Therefore, it is important that all police departments
develop strategies for dealing with the problem. Larger departments or districts may have
their own dedicated Internet child pornography teams, but smaller ones do not, and the
responsibility for day-to-day investigations will fall to general-duties officers. 34 It would be a
mistake to underestimate the importance of local police in detecting and preventing Internet

32“The problem of child pornography”, available at https://www.scribd.com/doc/52915820/Child-Pornography-

and-Its-Links-to-Tourism#scribd.
33 Sexual Exploitation of Children Act (Pub L. 95-225, 92 Stat. 7);
34 Policing Child Pornography, jewkes and Andrews,2005.p.311.

17
child pornography offenses. One study found that 56 percent of arrests for Internet child
pornography crimes originated from non-specialized law enforcement agencies.35

The Role of the Internet in Promoting Child Pornography

The Internet has escalated the problem of child pornography by increasing the amount of
material available, the efficiency of its distribution, and the ease of its accessibility.
Specifically, the Internet:
 Permits access to vast quantities of pornographic images from around the world.
 Makes pornography instantly available at any time or place.
 Allows pornography to be accessed (apparently) anonymously and privately.
 Facilitates direct communication and image sharing among users.
 Delivers pornography relatively inexpensively.
 Provides images that are of high digital quality, do not deteriorate, and can be
conveniently stored.
 Provides for a variety of formats (pictures, videos, sound), as well as the potential
for real-time and interactive experiences.
 Permits access to digital images that have been modified to create composite or
virtual images (morphing).36

Components of the Problem

The problem of Internet child pornography can be divided into three components—the
production, distribution, and downloading of images. In some cases, the same people are
involved in each stage. However, some producers and/or distributors of child pornography
are motivated solely by financial gain and are not themselves sexually attracted to children.

(i) Production
This involves the creation of pornographic images. Collectors place a premium on new child
pornography material. However, many images circulating on the Internet may be decades old,
taken from earlier magazines and films. Images may be produced professionally, and, in these
cases, often document the abuse of children in third-world countries. However, more
commonly, amateurs make records of their own sexual abuse exploits, particularly now that

35 Ibid.
36 Barkha .B, Child in Cyber Space, Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2008, p.3.

18
electronic recording devices such as digital cameras and web cams permit individuals to
create high quality, homemade images. 37 With the advent of multimedia messaging (MMS)
mobile phones, clandestine photography of children in public areas is becoming an increasing
problem.

(ii) Distribution
This involves the uploading and dissemination of pornographic images. These images may be
stored on servers located almost anywhere in the world. Distribution may involve
sophisticated paedophile rings or organized crime groups that operate for profit, but in many
cases, is carried out by individual amateurs who seek no financial reward. Child pornography
may be uploaded to the Internet on websites or exchanged via e-mail, instant messages,
newsgroups, bulletin boards, chat rooms, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. 38 Efforts by law
enforcement agencies and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to stop the dissemination of child
pornography on the Internet have led to changes in offenders’ methods. Child pornography
websites are often shut down as soon as they are discovered, and openly trading in
pornography via e-mail or chat rooms is risky because of the possibility of becoming
ensnared in a police sting operation (e.g., undercover police entering chat rooms posing as
paedophiles or as minor children). Increasingly those distributing child pornography are
employing more sophisticated security measures to elude detection and are being driven to
hidden levels of the Internet.

Distribution methods of child pornography on the Internet39

Method Use
Web pages and Specific child pornography websites may be
Websites
created, or child pornography images may
be embedded in general pornography sites.
However, there is debate about how much
child pornography is available on the web.
Some argue that it is relatively easy to find
Images. Others argue that, because of the
vigilance of ISPs and police in tracking
down and closing child pornography

37Lanning, K. And Burgess, A.W. “child Pornography and Sex Rings” available at
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=py.
38 Barkha .B, Child in Cyber Space, Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2008, P.5.
39 “Child Pornography On Internet”, available at www.popcenter.org/problems/pdfs/ChildPorn.pdf

19
 websites, it is unlikely that a normal web
search using key words such as child porn
would reveal much genuine child
pornography. Instead, the searcher is likely
to find legal pornographic sites with adults
purporting to be minors, ‘sting’ operations,
or vigilante sites. One strategy of
distributors is to post temporary sites that
are then advertised on paedophile bulletin
boards. To prolong their existence these
sites may be given innocuous names (e.g.,
volleyball) or other codes (e.g., ch*ldp*rn)
to pass screening software. The websites
may be immediately flooded with hits
before they are closed down. Often the
websites contain Zip archives, the password
for which is then later posted on a bulletin
board.
E-groups Specific child pornography e-groups exist to
permit members to receive and share
pornographic images and exchange
information about new sites. Some of these
groups appear on reputable servers and are
swiftly shut down when they are detected.
However, they may use code names or
camouflage child pornography images
among legal adult pornography to prolong
their existence.
Newsgroups Specific child pornography newsgroups
provide members with a forum in which to
discuss their sexual interests in children and
to post child pornography. This is one of the
major methods of distributing child

20
 pornography. Some child pornography
newsgroups are well known to both users
and authorities (for example, the abpep-t or
alternative binaries pictures erotica pre-teen
group). Most commercial servers block
access to such sites. Some servers do
provide access to them but a user runs the
risk of having his/her identity captured
either by the credit card payments required
for access, or the record kept by the server
of his/her IP address. However, a computer-
savvy user can access these groups by using
techniques that hide his/her identity by
concealing his/her true IP address.
Bulletin Board Bulletin boards may be used legally to host
Systems (BBS) discussions that provide advice to seekers of
child pornography, including the URLs of
child pornography websites and ratings of
those sites. These bulletin boards may be
monitored by system administrators to
exclude bogus or irrelevant postings, such
as from vigilantes.
Chat rooms Chat rooms may be used to exchange child
pornography and locate potential victims.
Chat rooms may be password-protected.
Open chat rooms are avoided by seasoned
child pornographers because they are often
infiltrated by undercover police.

21
 Peer-to-peer P2P networks facilitate file sharing among
(P2P) child pornography users. These networks
permit closed groups to trade images.

(iii) Downloading
This involves accessing child pornography via the Internet. The images do not need to be
saved to the computer’s hard drive or to a removable disk to constitute downloading. In some
cases a person may receive spam advertising child pornography, a pop-up link may appear in
unrelated websites, or he may inadvertently go to a child pornography website (e.g., by
mistyping a key word). In most cases, however, users must actively seek out pornographic
websites or subscribe to a group dedicated to child pornography. In fact, it has been argued
that genuine child pornography is relatively rare in open areas of the Internet, and,
increasingly, those seeking to find images need good computer skills and inside knowledge of
where to look.40 Most child pornography is downloaded via newsgroups and chat rooms.
Access to websites and online paedophile groups may be closed and require paying a fee or
using a password.

Extent of the Problem

It is difficult to be precise about the extent of Internet child pornography, but all of the
available evidence points to it being a major and growing problem. At any one time there are
estimated to be more than one million pornographic images of children on the Internet, with
200 new images posted daily.41 One offender arrested in the U.K. possessed 450,000 child
pornography images.42 It has been reported that a single child pornography site received a
million hits in a month.43 As noted above, one problem in estimating the number of sites is
that many exist only for a brief period before they are shut at hidden levels of the Internet. It

40 Ethel Quayle “Understanding and Preventing Online Sexual Exploitation of Children”, Routledge,march
2013, P.234.

41 Wellard, S.S. (2001). “Cause and Effect.” Community Care March 15–21, p. 26–27.
42 Carr, J, Child Abuse, Child Pornography and the Internet, London: NCH, (2004).
43 Jenkins.P, (Beyond Tolerance: Child Pornography on the Internet. New York: New York University Press,
2001,P.23.

22
has been estimated that there are between 50,000 and 100,000 paedophiles involved in
organized pornography rings around the world, and that one third of these operate from the
United States. Down and much of the trade in child pornography takes place.

Profile of Users
There is no one type of Internet child pornography user, and there is no easy way to recognize
an offender. Having a preconceived idea of a child sex offender can be unhelpful and prove a
distraction for investigating police.44 The users of child pornography are given below-
 Are not necessarily involved in hands-on sexual abuse of children-
It is not known exactly how many people may access child pornography on the
Internet without ever physically abusing a child. Before the Internet, between one-
fifth and one-third of people arrested for possession of child pornography were also
involved in actual abuse.45 However, the Internet makes it easy for people who may
never have actively sought out traditional forms of child pornography to satisfy their
curiosity online and this may encourage casual users. Looking at the relationship from
the other direction, those convicted of sexually abusing children will not necessarily
seek out or collect child pornography, with one study putting the number of offenders
who do so at around 10 percent.46
 May come from all walks of life and show few warning signs-
In fact, users of child pornography on the Internet are more than likely to be in a
relationship, to be employed, to have an above average IQ, to be college educated,
and to not have a criminal record. 47 Those arrested for online child pornography
crimes have included judges, dentists, teachers, academics, rock stars, soldiers, and
police officers. Among the few distinguishing features of offenders are that they are
likely to be white, male, and between the ages of 26 and 40, and may be heavy
Internet users to the extent that it interferes with other aspects of their lives. 48

44 Simon, L“An Examination of the Assumptions of Specialization, Mental Disorder, and Dangerousness in Sex
Offenders.” Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 2000, P.275.
45 Dobson, A., “Caught in the Net.” Care and Health,2003,p. 6–9.
46 Smallbone, S., and R. Wortley Child Sexual Abuse in Queensland: Offender Characteristics and Modus
Operandi. available at www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi193.pd.
47 Blundell, B., M. Sherry, A. Burke, and S. Sowerbutts (2002),“Child Pornography and the Internet:
Accessibility and Policing.” Australian Police Journal 56(1):59–65, available at www.popcenter.org › Problems
› Child Pornography on the Internet.
48 Ibid.

23
 (i) A Psychological Typology
Sexual attraction to children is known as paedophilia. 49 However, an interest in Internet child
pornography may be best thought of as falling along a continuum rather than in terms of a
hard and fast distinction between paedophiles and non-paedophiles. People can behave very
differently on the Internet than they do in other areas of their lives. Interacting anonymously
with a computer in the safety of one’s own home encourages people to express hidden
thoughts and desires.50 Offenders vary in the strength of their interest in child pornography, as
well as in the level of severity of the pornographic image to which they are attracted. From a
psychological perspective, based on a typology of general pornography users, the following
categories of Internet child pornography users are given below:

 Recreational users: They access child pornography sites on impulse, out of curiosity,
or for short-term entertainment. They are not seen to have long-term problems
associated with child pornography use.
 At-risk users: They are vulnerable individuals who have developed an interest in
child pornography, but may not have done so had it not been for the Internet.
 Sexual compulsives: They have a specific interest in children as sexual objects and
seek out child pornography.

(ii) An Offending Typology

Variations among offenders translate into different patterns of Internet behavior. Offenders
vary in the level of their involvement in Internet child pornography, the degree of networking
in which they engage with other offenders, their expertise in employing security strategies to
avoid detection, and the extent to which their Internet behaviour involves direct sexual abuse
of children. The following typology of child pornography offending has been suggested
below:51

 Browsers: Offenders who stumble across child pornography but knowingly save the
images. They are not involved in networking with other offenders and do not employ
security strategies to avoid detection. Their browsing is an indirect abuse of children.

49 Barkha .B, Child in Cyber Space, Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2008, P.39.
50 Ibid.
51 T.Krone, (2004). A Typology of Online Child Pornography Offending. Trends & Issues in Crime and
Criminal Justice, No. 279. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. Available at
www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi279.pdf.

24
 Private fantasizers: Offenders who create digital images (e.g., through morphing) for
private use to satisfy personal sexual desires. These offenders do not network with
other offenders, do not employ security strategies, and their private fantasies are an
indirect abuse of victims.
 Trawlers: Offenders who seek child pornography on the web through open browsers.
They may engage in minimal networking, but they employ few security strategies and
their trawling is an indirect abuse of victims.
 Non-secure collectors: Offenders who seek child pornography in non-secure chat
rooms (i.e., chat rooms that do not employ security barriers such as passwords) and
other open levels of the Internet. They are involved in relatively high levels of
networking, and, by definition, do not employ security strategies. Their collecting
behaviour is an indirect abuse of children. Because of the non-secured nature of their
activities, there are limits to the number and nature of the images they can collect.
 Secure collectors: Offenders who are members of a closed newsgroup or other secret
paedophile ring. They engage in high levels of networking and employ sophisticated
security measures to protect their activities from detection. Their collecting behaviour
is an indirect abuse of children. Because they occupy hidden levels of the Internet,
they have access to a wide range of images. They may engage in obsessive levels of
collecting, which not only involves amassing huge numbers of images, but also
carefully cataloguing and cross referencing them. As with other types of collections,
they may expend considerable effort in obtaining rare and highly prized images. The
collection may become an end in itself.
 Groomers: Offenders who develop online relationships with children and send
pornography to children as part of the grooming process. Grooming involves direct
abuse of children. They may or may not be involved in wider networking with other
offenders, but their contact with children exposes them to risk of detection. The child
may tell someone about the relationship, or the offender may be unwittingly
communicating with an undercover police officer.
 Physical abusers: Offenders who sexually abuse children and for whom an
interest in child pornography is just part of their paedophilic interests. They may
record their own abuse behaviours for their personal use, in which case, from a legal
standpoint, the possession of pornography is secondary to the evidence of their
abusive behaviour that it records. They may or may not network. By definition, a

25
 physical abuser directly abuses victims and his security depends upon the child’s
silence.
 Producers: Offenders who record the sexual abuse of children for the purpose of
disseminating it to others. The extent of their networking varies depending on whether
they are also distributors. Again the producer’s direct abuse of the victim
compromises his security.
 Distributors: Offenders involved in disseminating abuse images. In some cases they
have a purely financial interest in child pornography. More often, offenders at any of
the above levels who share images may be classified as distributors. Thus, the extent
of a distributor’s networking, his level of security, and whether he engages in direct
abuse of children depends upon the level at which he is operating.

Effects of Child Pornography

(i) Effects on the Children Portrayed

The vast majority of children who appear in child pornography have not been abducted or
physically forced to participate.52 In most cases they know the producer—it may even be their
father—and are manipulated into taking part by more subtle means. Nevertheless, to be the
subject of child pornography can have devastating physical, social, and psychological effects
on children.

The children portrayed in child pornography are first victimized when their abuse is
perpetrated and recorded. They are further victimized each time that record is accessed. In
one study, 100 victims of child pornography were interviewed about the effects of their
exploitation—at the time it occurred and in later years. Referring to when the abuse was
taking place, victims described the physical pain (e.g., around the genitals), accompanying
somatic symptoms (such as headaches, loss of appetite, and sleeplessness), and feelings of
psychological distress (emotional isolation, anxiety, and fear).
However, most also felt a pressure to cooperate with the offender and not to disclose the
offense, both out of loyalty to the offender and a sense of shame about their own behaviour.
Only five cases were ultimately reported to authorities. In later years, the victims reported
that initial feelings of shame and anxiety did not fade but intensified to feelings of deep
despair, worthlessness, and hopelessness. Their experience had provided them with a

52 Yaman Akdeniz, Internet Child Pornography and the Law: National and International Responses, available
at http://www.suffolk.es/documents/jhtl_book_reviews/Singer08.pdf

26
distorted model of sexuality, and many had particular difficulties in establishing and
maintaining healthy emotional and sexual relationships.

(ii) Effects on Users

There are at least five possible relationships between pornography use and the sexual
abuse of children:53
 Pornography use is an expression of existing sexual interests-
An individual who sexually abuses children seeks out child pornography as part of
his/her pattern of sexual gratification. The offender’s sexual interests cause his/her
pornography use rather than the other way around.
 Pornography is used to prime the individual to offend-
An individual deliberately views child pornography immediately prior to offending.
Pornography is used in the short term to sexually stimulate the offender in preparation
for offending.
 Pornography has a corrosive effect-
An individual becomes increasingly interested in child pornography, is attracted to
images of increasing severity, and becomes desensitized to the harm victims
experience. Use of pornography in the long term may also increase the risk that the
person will sexually abuse a child.
 Pornography has a cathartic effect-
Viewing child pornography is the sole outlet for an individual’s sexual attraction to
children. Pornography use may substitute for, or even help the individual resist,
engaging in hands-on offending.
 Pornography is a by-product of paedophilia-
Pornography is created in the process of carrying out sexual abuse or is used to groom
potential victims and prepare them for abuse. Pornography is incidental to the abuse
suffered by the victim.
In all likelihood, the effects of child pornography vary among users, and all of the above
relationships may apply depending upon the individual in question.

The Internet and Other Forms of Child Sexual Abuse

53 Ibid.

27
In addition to child pornography, the Internet facilitates child sexual abuse in the following
ways:
 It allows networking among child abuse perpetrators- The Internet facilitates a
subculture of paedophiles, who may share information and tactics and support each
other’s belief systems.54
 It may be used to seek out and groom victims- Perpetrators may enter children’s or
teens’ chat rooms under an assumed identity to access and establish relationships with
potential victims.55
 It may be used in cyber-stalking- Children may be sexually harassed via the Internet.
 It may be used to promote child sexual tourism- Information is made available to help
individuals locate child-sex tourism operators or to make direct contact with child
prostitutes.
 It may be used in trafficking children- Mail-order children are available over the
Internet.

STUDY OF CHILDPORNOGRAPHY ON INTERNET UNDER THE

INDIAN CONTEXT
54 P. Aftab, The Parent’s Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace,2000New York: McGraw-Hill.
P.76.
55 Ibid.P.77.

28
In India legal system the issue of child pornography received scant attention until recently.
The Indian Penal Code1860 (IPC) and in a few cases the Indian Post Office Act 1898 was
applied to prosecute the offender for the offence related to use of obscene materials . Section
292 and 293 of IPC prohibits selling, hiring, distributing, public exhibitions, circulation,
production or possesses an obscene book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting,
representation or figure or any other obscene object and material.
The Indian Post Office Act 1898 under Section 20 punishes transmission by post of indecent
or obscene, printings, paintings, photographs, lithographs, engravings, books or cards, or any
other indecent or obscene article. Only one case has been registered under this Section in
India.56
In 2000, the Information Technology Act 2000 came into force which punished transmitting
obscene materials in electronic form but it failed to address the issue of child pornography
which exploits children in many ways.
The term ‘pornography’ when used in relation to an offence is not defined in any statutes in
India but the term ‘obscenity’ has been explained in two statutes in India, and these
legislations prescribe that ‘obscenity’ in certain circumstances constitutes an offence.
These legislations are (i) The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’) and (ii) The Information
Technology Act, 2000 (‘IT Act’).Although neither the IPC nor the IT Act defines what
‘obscenity’ is, section 292 of the IPC and section 67 of the IT Act, (which corresponds to
section 292 of the IPC) explain ‘obscenity’ to mean anything which is lascivious or appeals
to the prurient interest or if its effect is to deprave and corrupt persons.
Therefore according to the law in India, anything that is lascivious or appeals to the prurient
interest or if its effect is to deprave and corrupt persons would be considered to be ‘obscene’.
In 2006 an Expert committee was appointed by Government of India to review and propose
amendments to the Information Technology Act (IT) 2000. The Expert Committee
recommended the strengthening of protection of children against exploitation in child
pornography.57
In 2009 the Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008 came in to force incorporating a
Section 67 (b) which prohibits publishing or transmitting or causes to be published or
transmitted material in any electronic form that depicts children engaged in sexually explicit
act or conduct.

56 Freedy peats v India, 1196 ( Session case no .24 of 1992).

57 Barkha .B, Child in Cyber Space, Asia Law House, Hyderabad, 2008, P 75.

29
This Section also prohibits: a). creation of texts or digital images, collects, seeks, browses,
downloads, advertising, promoting, exchanging or distributing material in any electronic
form depicting children in obscene or indecent or sexually explicit manner or b).cultivates,
entices or induces children to online relationship with one or more children for and on
sexually explicit act or in a manner that may offend a reasonable adult on the computer
resources, or c). Facilitates abusing children online or d). Records in any electronic form own
abuse or that of other pertaining to sexually explicit act with children.
This amendment has taken into consideration the international child protection standards set
forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography, both which India has signed and ratified.
Furthermore it is specifically addressing computer-related crimes against children.
This amendment is in recognition of the increasing use of information technologies to
“groom” children (preparing a child for abuse by lowering their inhibitions and gaining their
trust).
In addition to the above mentioned legislations the Indecent Representation of Women
Prohibition Act 1986 prohibits and punishes publishing, production, selling, hiring,
distribution, circulation or sending by post of any book, pamphlet, paper, slide, film, writing,
drawing, painting, photographing representing indecent representation arranging or taking
part in publication of advertisement that contains indecent representation of the girl
child. This Act was limited in use as it leaves out audio material and simulated images. This
Act does not apply to male children.

Another important legislation is the Goa Children’s Act 2003. It was the first Act in the
Country which recognised that tourism is a contributor to child exploitation. This Act
punishes any sexual assault with imprisonment. If any form of soliciting or publicizing, or
providing of children to any adult or even other children for purposes of commercial
exploitation, occurs is considered as a criminal act, and will be charged under the Act.

This includes hosting websites, taking suggestive or obscene photographs, providing

materials, soliciting costumers, guiding tourists and other clients, appointing touts, using
agents, or any other form which may lead to abuse of a child. The only disadvantage of this
Act is that it is applicable only to the State of Goa.

Recent Incidents in India

30
Many of the recent incidents forced the Mallimath Committee to rethink about the law, and
they have introduced an amendment to the act, which punishes the child pornography in
itself. These incidents are:
 Through internet chat room a man representing himself as 15 years girl before a 16
years old boy from 2002 to 2004 when the fact was that he was of 30 years age and a
man. That boy ran away to his girl friend at Mumbai from Kolkata. Thereafter, 30
years old man (girl friend) sexually abused the victim, stole money from him and beat
him up.58
 One young Bengali model named Sonar Singh was arrested from Gujarat for
distributing her pornographic images in chat-room and internet on November 2005.
She was permanent resident of Sri Rampur, West Bengal.59
 Air force Bal Bharati School, Delhi; class(XII) student created pornographic site as
revenge against his classmates (girls) and posted pornographic images of his
classmates and lady teachers in internet. He was then suspended by school and
arrested by Police under IPC and IT Act; though Juvenile Court allowed his bail
thereafter.60
 In Delhi the CBI has arrested Director of a private Company on the charge of sending
threatening and obscene e-mails to a woman and for posting her objectionable
photographs on websites. He was remanded in police custody and produced before the
Tis –Hazari Court on 16th March 2005 and then was remanded in judicial custody.
This case was registered by Cyber Crime Investigation Cell (CCIC) of CBI under
section 67 of the IT Act, 2000 and IPC on 9th March 2005.61
As Indian Information technology law does specify any specific punishment in regards
with these crimes. So every time this crimes predator escapes somehow. So it is high time
when we have to introduce some strict law in this relation.

Indian Case Studies

 Freddy Peats v. India, 1996 (Session Case No. 24 of 1992)62

Country of offence: Goa, India Law charged under: Indian Penal Code, Immortal Traffic
Prevention Act, Indian Post Office Act Drugs and Cosmetic Act Status: Convicted. This was

58 Available at http://www.indian child.com.

59 Available at http://www.NDTV.com.
60 Available at www.antichildporn.org/news/AnanovaNews/8.pd.
61 The Concept of ISP, liability was introduced for the first time in India,available at Ceo Bazee.com.
62 Freddy Peats v. India, 1996 (Session Case No. 24 of 1992).

31
the first case which created public awareness on child abuse and pornography. Freddy Peats,
a foreigner with unknown origin, was convicted in India in year 1996 for sexually abusing
children, , prostituting boys under the guise of running a shelter and in possession of 2305
child pornographic photos, 135 strips of negatives as well as medication and narcotic
substances. He was charged under Indian Penal Code ( Sections 342, 355, 323, 337, 328,292,
293, 377); Immortal Traffic Prevention Act ( Section 4,5,6 and 9); Indian Post Office Act
(Section 20) and under Drugs and Cosmetic Act (Section 27). This was the first conviction
for running an organised paedophilia racket in India.

 Wilhelmus Weijdeveld v. India, 200963

Country of offence: Tamil Nadu, India Law Charged Under: Information Technology Act
2000Status: Convicted
In November 2009, for the first time a case was registered against an offender under the
Section 67 (b) of the Information Technology Act (Amendments) 2008. Wilhelmus (56) is
a Dutch citizen who started his stay in India as a tourist and eventually ended up running an
orphanage, where he was sexually abusing five of the boys at the orphanage. 7 th November
2009, he was arrested by the cyber crime wing of the Tamil Nadu police, after being altered
by the INTERPOL that he was uploading child pornography materials on the internet. The
case is still pending before the Session Court of Chennai.

Indian Law Regulating Child Pornography

As per to the Indian Information Technology Act 2000, Chapter XI Para 67, the Government
of India clearly considers online pornography as a punishable offence. The Para states the
following -
Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published in the electronic form, any material
which is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend to
deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to
read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it, shall be punished on first conviction
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years and with
fine which may extend to one lakh rupees and in the event of a second or subsequent
conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years
and also with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees.

63 Wilhelmus Weijdeveld v. India, 2009.

32
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 section 293 64 also specifies, in clear terms, the law against Sale
etc. of obscene objects to minors. As per the IPC, whosoever sells, lets to hire, distributes,
exhibits or circulates to any person under the age of twenty years any such obscene object, as
is referred to in IPC Section 292,65 or offers of attempts so to do, shall be punished with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and which fine which may extend
to two thousand rupees, and, in the event of a second or subsequent conviction, with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and also with
fine which may extend to five thousand rupees. It also states that it is a cognizable offence
and the Magistrate is empowered to try any such case.
For the purposes of sub-section (2), a book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting
representation, figure or any other object, shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or
appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect, or (where it comprises two or more distinct
items) the effect of any one of its items, is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and
corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or
hear the matter contained or embodied in it shall be punished with imprisonment, for the first
instance, of either description for a term which may extend to two years, and with fine which
may extend to two thousand rupees, and, in the event of a second or subsequent conviction,
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and also
with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees.

CHALLENGES SOLUTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

64 Sec. 293 Sale, etc., of obscene objects to young person – Whosoever sells, lets to hire, distributes, exhibits or
circulates to any person under the age of twenty years any such obscene objects as is referred to in the last
preceding section, or offers or attempts so to do shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of
wither description for a term which may extend to three years, and with fine which may extend to two thousand
rupees, and, in the event of second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment of either description for a term
which may extended to seven years, and also with fine which may extended to five thousand rupees.
65 Sec. 292 of IPC Sale, etc., of obscene books, etc.

33
Challenges in Controlling Internet Child Pornography
Internet child pornography presents some unique challenges for law enforcement agencies.
These challenges include:
 The structure of the Internet: The structure of the Internet makes control of child
pornography very difficult. The Internet is a decentralized system with no single
controlling agency or storage facility. Because it is a network of networks, even if one
pathway is blocked, many alternative pathways can be taken to reach the same
destination. Similarly, if one website or newsgroup is closed down, there are many
others that can instantaneously take its place. The decentralized nature of the Internet,
and resultant difficulties in restricting the distribution of child pornography, is
exemplified by P2P networks involving direct connections among computers without
the need for a central server.66 It has been argued that the Internet is the ultimate
democratic entity and is essentially ungovernable.
 The uncertainties of jurisdiction: The Internet is an international communication
tool that crosses jurisdictional boundaries. Not only is cooperation among law
enforcement agencies necessary to track offenders across jurisdictions, it is required
to coordinate resources and avoid duplication of effort. Parallel operations run from
different jurisdictions may unknowingly target the same organization or offender.
Equally problematic is the issue of who is responsible for investigating child
pornography on the Internet when there is no clue as to where the images originate.
There is a potential for pornography crimes to go uninvestigated because they do not
fall within a particular law enforcement jurisdiction.
 The lack of regulation: The Internet, by its nature, is difficult to regulate, but many
jurisdictions are reluctant to introduce laws that might help control Internet use. There
are debates about the appropriate weight to give to the community’s protection on the
one hand, and to freedom of speech and commercial interests on the other. 67 There is
also legal ambiguity about whether ISPs should be liable for the material they carry
(as are television stations) or merely regarded as the conduits for that material (similar
to the mail service). The end result is that ISPs’ legal obligations with respect to
Internet child pornography are often unclear, and, for the most part, the emphasis has
been on self-regulation.

66 U.S. General Accounting Office (2003).

67 Yaman Akdeniz, Internet Child Pornography And The Law, Ashgate, P.89.

34
  The differences in legislation: To the extent that there have been attempts to regulate
the Internet, control efforts are hampered by cross-jurisdictional differences in laws
and levels of permissiveness regarding child pornography. For example, in the United
States a child is defined as someone under 18; in Australia the age is 16. Moreover,
countries vary in their commitment to enforce laws and act against offenders, either
for cultural reasons or because of corruption.
 The expertise of offenders: As the typology of Internet offending behaviour
suggests, offenders vary in the degree to which they employ elaborate security
measures to avoid detection. There is a core of veteran offenders, some of whom have
been active in paedophile newsgroups for more than 20 years, who possess high levels
of technological expertise.68 Paedophile bulletin boards often contain technical advice
from old hands to newcomers. It has been argued that many Internet sting operations
succeed only in catching inexperienced, low-level offenders.
 The sophistication and adaptation of Internet technology: The expertise of
offenders is enhanced by the rapid advances in Internet technology. In addition to P2P
networks, recent developments include remailers (servers that strip the sender’s
identity from e-mail) and file encryption (a method of hiding or scrambling data). A
technological race has developed between Internet pornographers and law
enforcement agencies.
 The volume of Internet activity: The sheer amount of traffic in child pornography
makes the task of tracking down every person who visits a child pornography site
impossible. Many offenders realize that realistically their chances of being caught are
quite remote. Similarly, while perhaps worthwhile activities, catching peripheral
offenders or disrupting individual networks may have little overall impact on the scale
of the problem.

Solution and Suggestions

It is generally acknowledged that it is impossible to totally eliminate child pornography from

the Internet. However, it is possible to reduce the volume of child pornography on the
Internet, to make it more difficult or risky to access, and to identify and arrest the more
serious perpetrators. Since 1996, ISPs have removed some 20,000 pornographic images of
children from the web.

68 K. Khan, (2000). “Child Pornography on the Internet.” Police Journal 73(1):7–17.

35
Around 1,000 people are arrested annually in the United States for Internet child pornography
offenses. The following strategies have been used or suggested to reduce the problem of child
pornography on the Internet-
(i) Removing illegal sites- A number of ISP associations have drafted formal codes of
practice that explicitly bind members to not knowingly accept illegal content on their
sites, and to removing such sites when they become aware of their existence. Service
agreement contracts with clients will often set out expected standards that apply to
site content. Large ISPs may have active cyber patrols that search for illegal sites. 69
(ii) Establishing complaint sites/hotlines- Some ISP associations have set up Internet
sites or hotlines that allow users to report illegal practices. These associations either
deal directly with the complaint (e.g., by contacting the webmaster, the relevant ISP,
or the police) or refer the complainant to the appropriate authorities.
(iii) Filtering browsers/search engines- ISPs can apply filters to the browsers
and search engines their customers use to locate websites. There are numerous
filtering methods. For example, filters can effectively treat certain key words as if
they do not exist, so that using these words in a search will be fruitless. Software that
can identify pornographic images is also being developed.70
(iv)Making ISPs legally responsible for site content- ISPs’ legal responsibilities to
report child pornography vary among jurisdictions. In the United States, ISPs are
legally required to report known illegal activity on their sites, but they are not
required to actively search for such sites. It has been argued that ISPs’ legal
responsibilities should be strengthened to require a more proactive role in blocking
illegal sites.
(v) Requiring the preservation of ISP records- Police may apply for a court order to
seize ISP accounts. However, to assist in the prosecution of offenders, ISPs need to
maintain good records of IP logging, caller ID, web hostings, and so forth.
(vi) Requiring user verification- ISPs often exercise little control over verifying the
identities of people who open Internet accounts. Accounts may be opened using false
names and addresses, making it difficult to trace individuals who engage in illegal
Internet activity. In addition, without verifying users’ ages, there is no way of
knowing if children are operating Internet accounts without adult supervision. This

69 Max Taylor, Child Pornography an Internet crime, Routledge 2003, p.74.

70 Wang, J., J. Li, G. Wiederhold, and O. Firschein (1998) “System for Screening Objectionable Images”,
Computer Communications 21:1355–1360.

36
 problem of Internet anonymity is likely to increase as the potential to access the
Internet via mobile phones becomes more common. It has been argued that both ISPs
and mobile phone networks need to strengthen procedures for user verification.71
(vii) Regulating anonymous remailers- Remailers are servers that forward emails
after stripping them of sender identification. It has been argued that much tighter
regulation of remailers is necessary. Some have advocated making remailer
administrators legally responsible for knowingly forwarding illegal material, while
others have called for a complete ban on remailers.
(viii) Using key escrowed encryption- Encryption of pornographic images is
shaping to be the biggest technological problem facing law enforcement agencies.
Key escrowed encryption would require anyone selling encryption software to supply
a trusted third party with a key to the code. This has been strongly resisted by the
computer industry. In the meantime, work continues on developing code-breaking
software.
(ix)Blocking credit card transactions- Although there has been considerable focus on
the role of ISPs in enabling the distribution of Internet child pornography, there has
been less attention given to the role played by credit card companies in allowing
customers to pay for that pornography. It has been argued that credit card companies
have a duty to not knowingly contribute to illegal acts. Some credit card companies
have acknowledged the problem and vowed to act.72
(x) Boycotting sites by advertisers- Economic pressure may be applied to service
providers to encourage them to monitor illegal content. In one example of this, major
brands have withdrawn advertising from P2P networks that carry child pornography.
(xi)Adopting and enforcing workplace codes of conduct- Many organizations have
explicit policies regarding and consequences for the improper use of work computers.
These policies need to be made clear to employees to remove any doubt about what
standard of behaviour is expected.
(xii) Auditing computer use- The traffic through most work based servers is less
than that for commercial ISPs, making it more feasible for the system administrator to
electronically monitor staff Internet use.

71 Carr, J., Child Abuse, Child Pornography and the Internet, London: NCH, (2004).
72 Anonymous, “Buried by a Pile of Porn: Child Pornography” The Economist (U.S.), Jan. 18, 2003, Vol.
366, Issue 8307; Sutton, D., and V. Jones, Position Paper on Child Pornography and Internet-Related Sexual
Exploitation of Children (2004).

37
 (xiii) Filtering web usage- By employing web filters, companies can place
restrictions on the sites that employees can visit.73
(xiv) Educating the public-The main activity of these groups is to raise public
awareness and provide tips for parents and teachers through their websites,
publications, and online classes.
(xv) Searching the Internet- Many of these groups have their own teams of
volunteers who search the Internet, or hotlines where people can report Internet child
pornography. Information gathered about child pornography is then passed on to law
enforcement agencies. Volunteers should be careful not to inadvertently download
child pornography and thus commit a crime.
(xvi) Encouraging parents to use filtering software- Commercially available
software allows parents to restrict or monitor their children’s Internet usage and may
be available as part of free parental controls by certain ISPs. These programs may
block undesirable sites or provide a record of Internet sites visited.
(xvii) Encouraging parents to review web ratings- The Recreational Software
Advisory Council on the Internet (RSACi) rates websites in much the same way
movies are rated. This is a voluntary system that allows website operators to obtain a
rating, which they can then code into their site. Ratings may be used as a filter on web
browsers to help parents control their children’s Internet use.
(xviii) Promoting the use of child-oriented search engines- Those in charge of a
website (the webmaster) may provide key words (meta-tags) that broadly identify
their site to assist in the search process. However, a webmaster may include
inappropriate key words in the meta-tag to increase visits to their site. For example, a
child pornography site may be located under the key word ‘Disney’. A number of
child oriented search engines (e.g., Yahooligans!) manually inspect sites for
inappropriate material.
(xix) Locating child pornography sites- Police agencies may scan the Internet to
locate and remove illegal child pornography sites. Many areas of the Internet are not
accessible via the usual commercial search engines, and investigators need to be
skilled at conducting sophisticated searches of the ‘hidden net.’ Police may issue
warnings to ISPs that are carrying illegal content.

73 Lee, P., S. Hui, and A. Fong, “A Structural and Content-Based Analysis for Web Filtering”, Internet
Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy 13(1) (2003):27–37.

38
 (xx) Conducting undercover sting operations- Law enforcement agents may
enter paedophile newsgroups, chat rooms, or P2P networks posing as paedophiles and
request emailed child pornography images from others in the group. Alternatively,
they may enter child or teen groups posing as children and engage predatory
paedophiles lurking in the group who may send pornography or suggest a meeting. A
variation of the sting operation is to place ads on the Internet offering child
pornography for sale and wait for replies. Recently, Microsoft announced the
development of the Child Exploitation Tracking System to help link information such
as credit card purchases, Internet chat room messages, and conviction histories.74
(xxi) Setting up honey trap sites- These sites purport to contain child pornography
but in fact are designed to capture the IP or credit card details of visitors trying to
download images. These can be considered a type of sting operation and have resulted
in numerous arrests.
(xxii) Publicizing crackdowns- Many police departments have learned to use the
media to good effect to publicize crackdowns on Internet child pornography. 75
Coverage of crackdowns in the mass media increases the perception among potential
offenders that the Internet is an unsafe environment in which to access child
pornography.
(xxiii) Engaging in vigilantism- There are a few citizens’ groups (e.g., Ethical
Hackers Against Paedophilia) that engage in direct vigilantism by hacking into and
disabling suspected offenders’ computers, posting anti-paedophile messages on
paedophile bulletin boards, and swamping paedophile newsgroups with the aim of
closing them down.
(xxiv) Conducting traditional criminal investigations- Although most media
attention is often given to technological aspects of controlling Internet child
pornography, in fact many arrests in this area arise from traditional investigative
police work. Investigations may involve information from-
 The public: The public may contact police directly, or information may be
received on one of the various child pornography hotlines.

74 Duff-Brown B., “Software Helps Track Child Pornographers”, Associated Press, (2005), available at
www.boston.com/business/technology/ articles/2005/04/08/software_helps_track_child_ pornographers.
75 BBC News, “Tackling Online Child Pornography” available at news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1166135.stm
(Accessed February 13, 2001); BBC News, “Operation Avalanche: Tracking Child Porn” available at
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2445065.stm (Accessed November 11, 2002); BBC News, “Police Trap Online
Paedophiles” available at news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3329567.stm (Accessed December 18, 2003).

39
  Computer repairers/technicians: Some states mandate computer personnel
to report illegal images. There are cases where computer repairers have found
child pornography images on an offender’s hard drive and notified police.
Police may establish relationships with local computer repairers/ technicians
to encourage reporting.
 Victims: A point of vulnerability for producers of child pornography is the
child who appears in the pornographic image. If the child informs others of
his/her victimization, then the offender’s activities may be exposed.76
 Known traders: The arrest of one offender can lead to the arrest of other
offenders with whom he has had dealings, producing a cascading effect. In
some cases the arrested offender’s computer and Internet logs may provide
evidence of associates.
 Unrelated investigations: There is increasing evidence that many sex
offenders are criminally versatile and may commit a variety of other
offenses.77 Police may find evidence of Internet child pornography while
investigating unrelated crimes such as drug offenses.

CONCLUSION
Obscenity is more of a social evil than crime (i.e. illegal). It is a matter which cannot be
solved in a day. Further I would still insist on my point that 'Pornography' per se is not
76 Lesce, T., “Pedophiles on the Internet: Law Enforcement Investigates Abuse”, (1999), Law and Order
47(5):74–78.
77 Simon, L., “An Examination of the Assumptions of Specialization, Mental Disorder, and Dangerousness in
Sex Offenders”, (2000), Behavioral Sciences and the Law 18:275–308.

40
obscene and illegal, but 'pornography' which is obscene is illegal and immoral. There is a dire
need to change our outlook and try to understand this very basic demarcation between
'pornography' and 'obscene'. We can’t deny the fact that cyber obscenity is present in our
society and it cannot be ignored. If we try or if we assume that it can be removed in a short
time then we are wrong. It is not through legislation that we can check or curb it.
Because this obscenity has done the minds of internet users dirty. But by the enactment of
strict legislation for the cyber world can restrict its influence to some extent. One of the
possible ways may be through increasing and spreading awareness among the masses.
It is not only the offenders who transmit or publish this material are responsible to increase
this crime.
The general public who never involve in such activity are also responsible for this because
they who search these items in Internet to watch or hear. And by searching these items in
internet they are supporting financially those websites who are transmitting these. Because
their income depends upon the number of the viewers of that particular sites. Therefore if we
want to curb this crime we shall have to restrict our hands to enter these websites and will
have to check ourselves not to provide any financial support indirectly.

And dealing with the subject of child pornography on internet. I would say that it would be
foolish to think the Internet can be free of all illegal materials. Part of what makes the Internet
valuable is the vast amount of information that is available to us. Information that may have
gone undiscovered or unnoticed without it. Technological advancements are bringing to the
world newly integrated messaging systems, more development of E-commerce, business
television; high speed digital internet access, better GroupWare tools and the development of
new multimedia technologies. All of these tools and advancements are in part or solely due to
the Internet. With so much more to offer us, why would we want to regulate the Internet and
possibly stunt its growth?
Perverts are moving from the playground to the Internet and they are making their way into
everyone's lives. While the Internet Industry provides parents with filtering systems like
CyberWatch, Netnanny, and Cybernanny, the only thing these systems have accomplished is
helping people avert their eyes away from the real problem. What some people view as
pornography, others view as quite normal. Nevertheless, there has to be some consensus of
what is child pornography, and we need to come up with a way to stop the exchange of such
materials on the Internet.

41
We need to step carefully into the next millennium. Placing too many restrictions on the
Internet could be counter-productive. There is a fine line between protecting the interests of
children with the interests of the world. Too much restriction may prove fatal to the Internet
commerce. A type of commerce we are becoming more dependent on day to day. We need to
recognize that while the Internet is capable of providing a place for the exchange of illegal
and harmful material, it is has become an essential tool in our day to day lives. A tool whose
purpose is to facilitate ideas, the exchange of knowledge, and the freedom to fly across the
world in the blink of an eye.

42
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