The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction

The Effect of the Lack of Internet Regulation on Law Enforcement InvestigationsAmong NDIC interviewees:• 95 percent of respondents reported that the lack of Internet regulation has restricted lawenforcement investigations and assisted offenders in committing child pornographyoffenses.• 70 percent of respondents reported that the lack of Internet Service Provider (ISP)regulations, including but not limited to, reporting child pornography, responding to lawenforcement inquiries, and retaining customer IP addresses, IP logs, and other subscriberinformation, have hampered law enforcement investigations.Some agencies cite the Wiretap Statute, which strictly prohibits the interception of internationalelectronic communications, including online communications regarding child pornography,without a specific court order. This is in contrast to U.S. Customs laws, which, in an effort tosafeguard the United States from the unlawful importation or smuggling of contraband, imposesfewer restrictions on searches of packages entering the country. Consistent with those laws,airports, border crossings, and ports of entry have established rules and regulations for theconduct of inspections by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE. However, because ofthe restrictions imposed by the Wiretap Statute, there is no comparable authority available to theagencies charged with intercepting the international electronic communications of suspectedchild pornography offenders. Some agencies suggest exempting, in a manner consistent withapplicable constitutional limits, the international electronic communications of such offendersfrom at least some of the restrictions imposed by the Wiretap Statute.Transnational Organized Crime Element of Child PornographyAmong NDIC interviewees:• 85 percent of respondents reported that there are international and transnational groupsthat operate pay sites of child pornography. These sites are lucrative and operate strictlyfor profit.• 68 percent of respondents reported that web sites, ISPs, and governments in othercountries are not cooperative in child pornography investigations and often ignore theproblem of child pornography. They also responded that serving subpoenas in othercountries is often difficult if not impossible.Many agencies reported Russia as having the most significant transnational organized crime rolein child pornography.Psychological Impact to a Child Pornography VictimAmong NDIC interviewees:• 95 percent of respondents reported that a child suffers lifelong psychological damage andmay never overcome his or her trauma from being a child pornography victim.• 75 percent of respondents reported that children suffer from knowing that their imagesexist in perpetuity and that even if their abuser is convicted, there are still other childpornography offenders out there viewing their images, offenders that the victims may runinto in social settings.D-12