Child pornography isn’t a topic people enjoy talking about; however, it is a serious problem that society must address. The expansion of the internet has made accessing pornographic images of children and soliciting minors much easier and more common. In fact, 4,901 arrests were made in 2009 on these grounds in the U.S., compared to 1,713 in 2000.
Computer crimes involving children are becoming a larger problem every year; clearly the issue must be dealt with. However, some believe the approach that law enforcement has taken to catch and prosecute offenders is going too far.
An NBC report recently exposed an FBI operation in which officers took over a child pornography site and kept it running in order to catch predators:
“The technique allows the FBI to catch those running the website and those using the website to share pictures of child pornography. Websites like this exist on something called the ‘dark web’ — private networks that typically deal in child porn, illegal drugs and pirated media and allow users to hide their identities.”
This controversial new technique has some concerned citizens questioning whether “the end justifies the means.”
“As a citizen I was shocked,” said Houston criminal defense attorney Neal Davis, representing one of the defendants charged in the course of this investigation. Davis went on to say, “This is the first time I’ve ever learned of the federal government running a child pornography website. I just feel like it’s too much big brother. I think they raise a host of legal issues, particularly about privacy rights.”
Some also argue that by running a child pornography site, the government is essentially guilty of distributing “crime scene photos” of child pornography. Additionally, less than one percent of people downloading the illegal images are arrested, since a majority is outside U.S. jurisdiction. With these issues being raised, it’s not surprising that there is controversy surrounding this tactic.
To continue learning about this story, read USA Today’s article.