File-Sharing Programs: Peer-to-Peer Networks Provide Ready Access to Child Pornography

• NCJ Number: 199466
• Date Published: February 2003
• Length: 37 pages
• Corporate Author: US Government Accountability Office
• Sale Source: US Government Accountability Office; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Report to the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives; downloaded March 13, 2003.

Annotation

This document discusses the access of child pornography on peer-to-peer networks.

Abstract

The United States General Accounting Office (GAO) was requested to determine the ease of access to child pornography on peer-to-peer networks; the risk of inadvertent exposure of juvenile users of peer-to-peer networks to pornography; and the extent of Federal law enforcement resources available for combating child pornography on peer-to-peer networks. GAO worked with the Customs Cyber-Smuggling Center in performing searches. Customs downloaded and analyzed image files and GAO performed analyses based on keywords and file names only. Results of the study show that child pornography was easily found and downloaded from peer-to-peer networks. In one search using 12 keywords known to be associated with child pornography on the Internet, GAO identified 1,286 titles and file names, determining that 42 percent were associated with child pornography images. Of the remaining, 34 percent were classified as adult pornography and 24 percent as non-pornographic. These results are in accord with increased reports of child pornography on peer-to-peer networks since it began tracking these in 2001. Juvenile users of these networks are at significant risk of inadvertent exposure to pornography, including child pornography. Searches on innocuous keywords likely to be used by juveniles produced a high proportion of pornographic images. While Federal law enforcement agencies are devoting resources to combating child exploitation and child pornography in general, these agencies do not track the resources dedicated to specific technologies used to access and download child pornography on the Internet. Therefore, GAO was unable to quantify the resources devoted to investigating cases on peer-to-peer networks. Law enforcement resources are increasingly being focused on this area as tips concerning child pornography on peer-to-peer networks escalate. 5 figures, 3 tables, 3 appendixes