But then came the rise of the Internet, plus the spread of cheap photographic scanners and digital cameras. The Internet is the ultimate distribution system. From a handful of agents three years ago, the number of antiporn cybercops has jumped to over 100 nationwide. Among those involved are the FBI, U.S. customs, the Postal Service, and local police departments. Next month, customs will announce formation of a child-porn squad that increases the number of investigators from three to 10.
Enough agents are online that occasionally they try to trap each other.
Federal authorities made roughly 300 arrests for Internet-based child porn this year. Nonetheless, tens of thousands of photos are available on, or through, the Internet. A child-porn Web page secretly set up by U.S. customs received over 70,000 hits in its first two months. The suppliers come from Northern Europe and Japan, as well as the United States. In Internet chat rooms the cops often pose as young girls, hoping to lure suspects into sending material.