WRITTEN QUESTION E-2302/98

by Marjo Matikainen-Kallström (PPE) to the Commission

(22 July 1998)

Subject: Official cooperation on the illegal use of the Internet

The extent of child pornography on the Internet is alarming. According to investigations carried out last year by Interpol, over 70 000 files containing pornographic pictures of children were found in a single two-month operation. In many countries the police and child protection authorities have initiated cooperation to collect clues about child pornography being uploaded on to the Internet. To this end effective and comprehensive data monitoring is particularly important.

In the light of the above, what measures does the Commission propose to take to promote the establishment of an effective cooperation network between authorities monitoring the Internet?

Answer given by Ms Gradin on behalf of the Commission

(22 October 1998)

Via its STOP programme against the trade in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children and the Daphne initiative to promote measures for combating violence, the Commission has been supporting projects dealing specifically with the question of the illegal use of the Internet by paedophile rings since 1997.

In 1997 the STOP programme gave its support to a seminar on the protection of minors on the Internet and on ways of strengthening cooperation in this field between public authorities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), a feasibility study on facilitating investigations by setting up a computerised reference system of child pornography seized by the police, including images taken from the Internet, and a university research project on the scale of paedophile activity on the Internet and on ways of monitoring and preventing such use. The second stage of this research will be carried out in 1998.

As the Honourable Member points out, gathering reports and exchanging information is of paramount importance if law-enforcement is to deal with crimes such as dissemination of child pornography. The Commission has proposed an action plan on promoting safe use of the Internet(1) with substantial effort aimed at continuing the hot-line cooperation started under the Daphne programme, and extending it into a comprehensive network of hot-lines to coordinate the efforts on a European and an international level. Existing hot-lines have already established connections with Interpol through local police and hot-line reports have resulted in a number of prosecutions.

It is true that there has been some scepticism concerning extra-judicial bodies performing content surveillance tasks. Nevertheless, where hot-lines are already established, it is the general impression that their work is very well received by police authorities and users. Whereas all prosecutable material must eventually be the responsibility of the police and prosecuting authorities, an industry and user-based network of hot-lines has major advantages. Not only do they show impressive results of identifying sources of illegal material, but their informal international cooperation also allows for using the network for swift reporting to local police authorities. Hot-lines also have the potential for raising awareness about material that may be legal, but nevertheless should be identified for the purpose of giving the consumer a chance to protect himself and his family.

The Commission is also firmly committed to supporting the work currently under way in strengthening the international exchange of information on high-tech crime between law-enforcement authorities. One such initiative is carried out by the Group of eight most industrialised nations (G8) subgroup on high-tech crime, which recently published a report on procedures and contact-points for reporting such crimes.

(1) OJ C 48, 13.2.1998.