74 nations jointly crack down on child porn
The Yomiuri Shimbun

Investigative authorities in 74 countries including Japan, the United
States and those in Europe, Southeast Asia and South America, recently launched
a joint international crackdown on child pornography video providers that use
file-exchange software to distribute the images on the Internet, it was learned
Friday.

The international police operation is designed to eradicate child porn,
including video clips, which are proliferating over the Internet, sources said.

The Saitama prefectural police have been investigating several people
believed to have been spreading obscene video clips from this country to other
nations via the use of such software, on suspicion of violating the law against
child prostitution and child pornography.

Japan has been criticized internationally as a "massive child porn
supplier nation."

The software in question is one of popular file-exchange programs used by
hundreds of millions of people worldwide, according to the investigation
sources.

Child porn distributors and users around the world have abused this
peer-to-peer file-exchange software to share obscene video clips obtained by the
individuals among an unspecified number of personal computers in many cases.

Investigative authorities have obtained information from their overseas
counterparts on Japanese nationals who are believed to have provided child porn
video clips to overseas users using the software.

In June, the National Police Agency asked the Saitama prefectural police
to investigate some of the perpetrators in this country.

With the third World Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Children and
Adolescents scheduled to take place in November in Rio de Janeiro, police
agencies of participating nations have concluded that global cooperation is
necessary to eradicate child porn from the Internet.

The international police operation had exchanged intelligence information
in advance of this month's launch of the investigation.

The Saitama prefectural police plan to search the homes of several people
who are suspected to have used the Internet to distribute child porn video clips
to third parties inside or outside the country, on suspicion of violating the
above-mentioned law that prohibits supply of child porn and possession for the
purpose of supply, the sources said.

In Japan, police cannot prosecute people who possess such video clips
simply for personal amusement. Against this background, it has been difficult to
control the spread of child porn videos that are distributed by file-sharing
software.

Some Japanese have been named by investigative authorities in about 60
countries as "spreaders of child porn videos."

Through the current investigation, the NPA and Saitama prefectural police
intend to strongly demonstrate to the international community the attitude that
the nation intends to strictly control child porn, the sources added.

(Sep. 6, 2008) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080906TDY02312.htm





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]