NCJ Number
183069
Editor(s)
Richard C. Monk
Date Published
1998
Length
18 pages
Annotation
A writer of books and articles on educating children argues that claims of dangers posed by child pornography on the Internet represent an example of moral panic that causes otherwise sensible people to over-react, while a magazine writer contends that the Internet is a real danger to children because it provides easy access to pornography, encourages the creation and dissemination of child pornography, and provides pedophiles with a new group of children to prey upon.
Abstract
There have always been practical and legal restraints on speech and expression, and controversy has surrounded these restraints. Nonetheless, child pornography is available on the Internet and a key question is whether special safeguards are needed. Concerned citizens, especially parents, are forming coalitions and are demanding legal action to close down Internet sites dealing with child pornography and to control computer use and programs in public arenas such as public libraries and schools. At the same time, as of July 1997, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, only 25 young people have been entrapped in exploitative situations due to online encounters. Since July 1997, however, there have been at least six more serious encounters, including the murder of a child lured by an online chat room pervert. The writer of books and articles on educating children acknowledges there is child pornography on the Internet but believes the issue is unjustifiably perpetuated by a sensationalistic style of reporting and by misleading content in newspaper and magazine articles. In contrast, the magazine writer views child pornography on the Internet as an extremely serious matter and describes the dangers inherent in chat rooms and how child molesters network on the Internet.