Internet News
December 12, 2000 ·
Published in ECPAT-USA news
(December 2000)
Local News
A 33 year-old Sydney businessman has appeared in a Melbourne court on charges of procuring and attempting to procure a child under 16 for sexual,penetration after allegedly arranging to meet a 12-year-old boy over the Internet. He met the boy in a chatroom and after 4 conversations suggested they engage in sex. The boy’s mother discovered the email and reported it to police who, posing as the boy, continued to communicate with the man to arrange a meeting where he was arrested.
People who put offensive material such as child pornography on the Internet in South Australia may be prosecuted under new laws introduced to State Parliament. Under the legislation, a person who has entered the offensive material will be prosecuted rather than the Internet service provider.
International News
One in 5 British children who use computer chatrooms have been approached over the Internet by child sex offenders, the Home Office’s Internet crime forum has reported.
Mandatory use of filters has been unanimously rejected by a US Congress commission studying ways to reduce access by minors to sexually explicit material on the Internet. The commission argued no single technology or method would completely protect children on line. The findings are at odds with Republican sponsored legislation requiring schools and libraries to install softwarem@lters before receiving federal funding. If this legislation is passed it will be challenged under the US First Amendment guaranteeing the right of free speech. The overwhelming majority of Americans think schools should install filters to prevent students accessing pornography and hate sites.
Nearly 1500 people have now been charged in the Internet child pornography ring uncovered in Italy in September 2000. @talian prosecutors have ordered 831 Italians and 660 foreigners to stand trial. Most were trapped in a fake paedophile website set up by Italian authorities police and Mircosoft. Some have been charged with offering child pornography over the Internet. The majority face charges of downloading child pornography. The charges follow the uncovering of a ring trading in brutal child pornography produced in Russia.
Child net international have launched a website addressing the dangers of Internet chat rooms. The site raise awareness about the potential dangers of un-moderated Internet chat rooms and gives practical advice to parents on how to keep their children safe on the Internet. www:chatdanger.com
