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(2004/C 33 E/122)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1468/03

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(30 April 2003)

Subject:   On-line child pornography and paedophilia

On-line paedophilia has become extremely widespread, specialised and lucrative and it is closely linked with crime committed against children. ‘Cultural paedophilia’, which is freely available on-line, is even more worrying because it attracts followers, funding and a degree of respectability. This is something to which the authorities should pay greater attention (as, of course, they should to the production and distribution of materials aimed at paedophiles). Between June and December 2002 an Italian voluntary association identified 4 656 child-pornography websites, which it reported to the FBI, to Interpol and to the police forces of various countries (Spain, Brazil, Switzerland and France). In certain cases the sites were also reported to Europol. Between June 2002 and March 2003, 1 322 sites were identified. Since it was set up in 1998 the Italian post-office police has monitored approximately 70 000 sites. One social study of on-line paedophilia (carried out by the above-mentioned association Meter) has revealed that there exists a paedophile ‘cultural lobby’ which endeavours to justify both the ‘right to be paedophile’ and the claim that a paedophilic relationship is beneficial to children. Alongside this there is a thriving criminal-paedophilia industry which produces, distributes and sells child pornography, the turnover in which is difficult to estimate; rates vary from USD 35 for a weekly subscription providing access to 50 pornographic photographs of children to USD 150 for ‘rare’ photographs of small children between 2 and 6 years of age. In 60 % of cases the servers are located in the USA, with a further 30 % in the countries of eastern Europe.

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(4 June 2003)

The Commission shares the opinion of the Honourable Member that child pornography on the Internet is a severe and growing problem. There is a clear need to persevere in the efforts to co-operate internationally, among governments, particularly law enforcement and judicial authorities, but also between governments and the Internet industry, hotlines and non-governmental organisations to effectively tackle this horrible phenomenon.

Primary responsibility for dealing with illegal content (including child pornography) is with the appropriate law enforcement and judicial authorities of the Member States, which co-operate internationally in the fight against child pornography on the Internet through the existing channels of communications, such as Europol and Interpol. But since 1996 the Union has been a forerunner in the fight against illegal and harmful content. The Safer Internet Programme provides funding for activities to deal with illegal and harmful content, as part of a coherent approach by the European Union. The Safer Internet Action Plan, which ended on 31 December 2002, had been extended. This allows activities to continue for a further two years by taking account of lessons learned and new technologies, and to ensure co-ordination with parallel work in the field of network and information security. Safer Internet aims to ensure more extensive interfacing with national programmes and actions, improved exchange of information and best practice between Member State activities as well as between the action lines of the programme, including the setting up of software which enable parents and/or teachers to limit children's' access to inappropriate material on the Internet and dedicated web services which provide safe access to the Internet.

Other elements of the Union strategy to combat child pornography include legal instruments and practical measures against computer crime and child pornography. These include the Commission proposal for a Council Framework Decision (1) on approximation of laws and sanctions of the in the field of the sexual exploitation of children, with particular reference to child pornography on the Internet (2), and the Council the Recommendation of 24 September 1998 (3) on Protection of Minors and Human Dignity and the Council Decision of 29 May 2000 to combat child pornography on the Internet (4).

In January 2003 the Commission received the ‘International Child Exploitation Database’ feasibility study, which has been co-funded under the STOP II Programme and run by a project group composed by experts from several Member States. Europol has been fully associated to the works of the project group. The group has produced various recommendations, including the key recommendation that a sophisticated networked international child sexual exploitation image database, building on the fledgling system at Interpol, is urgently required, and both technically and legally possible. The project group agreed that the database would have to take into account the different national laws governing images of child sexual exploitation and protection of personal data. It was also agreed that Europol would be given access to the database for analytical purposes.

The Commission is not responsible for the actual setting up of such an international database. This is left to the appreciation of the EU Member States and other countries wishing to participate. The Commission has received on 7 March 2003 an application by several Member States, Europol and other third countries under the AGIS programme for funding an implementation study as concrete follow-up to the above mentioned feasibility study. The application is now evaluated according to the rules of the funding programme. A final decision will be announced by mid-June 2003.

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(1)OJ C 62 E, 27.2.2001.

(2)  The Council reached a common approach on this Commission proposal on 14 October 2002. Two Member States (NL and SW) have still parliamentary reservations on the proposal.

(3)OJ L 270, 7.10.1998.

(4)OJ L 138, 9.6.2000.

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