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Witness Testimony
Mr. Ernie Allen
Online Pornography: Closing the Doors on Pervasive Smut.
Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I am pleased to appear before you today and express the views of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the issue of Peer-to-Peer networks and the distribution of child pornography. Let me first provide the Committee with some general background on NCMEC and why we are so concerned about this issue. NCMEC is a not-for-profit corporation, mandated by Congress and working in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice as the national resource center and clearinghouse on missing and exploited children. NCMEC is a true public-private partnership, funded in part by Congress and in part by the private sector. NCMEC's federal funding supports specific operational functions mandated by Congress, including a national 24-hour toll-free hotline; a photo distribution system to generate leads regarding missing children; a system of case management and technical assistance to law enforcement and families in the search for and recovery of missing children; training programs for federal, state and local law enforcement; and much more. While we are perhaps best known for our work in the field of missing children, NCMEC is also a leader in the battle against child sexual exploitation and has become the epicenter of the war against child pornography. How did we become such a central figure in the child pornography battle? " The Child Porn Tipline was launched in June 1987 as a service for the U.S. Customs Service and subsequently for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. In partnership with the U.S. Customs Service and U.S.P.I.S., NCMEC has received and processed 11,000 such leads. " In 1994, months before the nation or the news media viewed online victimization as a problem, NCMEC first printed the brochure, "Child Safety on the Information Highway," a publication discussing online child safety. Subsequently, a number of children were lured away to meet adults they'd met online, and suddenly online victimization became front-page news. Because we were the only child advocacy group at the time with solid tips on how to prevent online victimization, the news media and families turned to NCMEC for help. " On January 31, 1997, in response to the increasing prevalence of child sexual victimization, NCMEC officially opened its Exploited Child Unit (ECU). The ECU is responsible for receipt, processing, initial analysis and referral to law enforcement of information regarding the sexual exploitation of a child. " In 1997 the Director of the FBI and I testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary. The committee asked how serious was the problem of Internet-based child sexual exploitation. Director Freeh and I agreed that it was a serious and growing problem that we were just beginning to recognize and address, and that much more needed to be done at the federal, state and local levels. As a result of that hearing, Congress directed NCMEC to establish an Internet-based, reporting mechanism for child pornography, online enticement of children, child molestation, child prostitution and child sex tourism. Congress also directed the Justice Department to establish multi-jurisdictional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces across the country. " On March 9, 1998 NCMEC launched its new CyberTipline, www.cybertipline.com, the "911 for the Internet," to serve as the national online clearinghouse for investigative leads and tips regarding child sexual exploitation. NCMEC's CyberTipline is linked via server with the FBI, Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Postal Inspection Service. Leads are received and reviewed by NCMEC's analysts, who visit the reported sites, examine and evaluate the content, use search tools to try to identify perpetrators, and provide all lead information to the appropriate law enforcement agency and investigator. The FBI, ICE and Postal Inspection Service have "real time" access to the leads, and all three agencies assign agents who work directly out of NCMEC, and review reports. The U.S. Secret Service has assigned three analysts who assist in the review and prioritization process. The results: to date (through May 2, 2004), NCMEC has received and processed 237,147 leads, 215,599 of which were reports of child pornography, resulting in hundreds of arrests and successful prosecutions. " In December 1999, Congress passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act, mandating that Internet Service Providers report child pornography on their sites to law enforcement, subject to substantial fines for failure to report. Again, Congress asked NCMEC if it could handle the reports through its CyberTipline. NCMEC agreed. While the reporting mechanism is being formalized, NCMEC has entered into agreements with 122 major ISPs, including industry leaders America Online and the Microsoft Network, who are already reporting child pornography on their sites voluntarily. " Currently, NCMEC receives and analyzes CyberTipline leads in seven categories, the final category added as a result of passage of the PROTECT Act in 2003: " possession, manufacture, and distribution of child pornography; " online enticement of children for sexual acts; " child prostitution; " child-sex tourism; " child sexual molestation (not in the family); " unsolicited obscene material sent to a child; and " misleading domain names Today, NCMEC is receiving hundreds of reports and tips regarding child pornography from across America and around the world each week, and it is pursuing those leads aggressively with the appropriate law enforcement agencies. We are proud of the progress. Following the Supreme Court's 1982 Ferber v. New York decision holding that child pornography was not protected speech, child pornography disappeared from the shelves of adult bookstores, the Customs Service launched an aggressive effort to intercept it as it entered the country, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service cracked down on its distribution through the mails. However, child pornography did not disappear, it went underground. That lasted until the advent of the Internet, when those for whom child pornography was a way of life suddenly had a vehicle for networking, trading and communicating with like-minded individuals with virtual anonymity and little concern about apprehension. They could trade images with like-minded individuals, and in some cases even abuse children "live," while others watched via the Internet. However, in recent years law enforcement began to catch up, and enforcement action came to the Internet. The FBI created its Innocent Images Task Force. The Customs Service expanded its activities through its Cyber Crimes Center. The Postal Inspection Service continued and enhanced its strong attack on child pornography. The Congress has funded forty Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces at the state and local levels across the country. Child pornography prosecutions have increased an average of 10% per year in every year since 1995. We were making enormous progress. On the subject of today's hearing, the trading of child pornography via peer-to-peer networks, NCMEC's Cyber Tipline has received 2,100 reports. However, we are convinced that is in no way descriptive of the real scope of the problem. Through anecdotal reports and conversations with law enforcement officials across the country, it is clear to us that thousands of individuals are trading child pornography via peer-to-peer programs, and that the people utilizing this method of distribution can be found in every state and in countries around the world. Peer-to-peer programs have made it more difficult to identify the users. In the past we were able to easily identify offenders trading child pornography using peer-to-peer programs because their Internet Protocol (IP) addresses were visible and they were required to reveal their email addresses. This is no longer the case. When we receive reports to the CyberTipline, it is almost impossible to identify the perpetrators responsible for trading the illegal files. The anonymity of recent peer-to-peer technology has allowed individuals who exploit children to trade images and movies featuring the sexual assault of children with very little fear of detection. Law enforcement agencies face numerous challenges including: " There is no central database of files nor organized network " There are no centrally-held logs on these systems to record activity " Most of the popular file-sharing programs are free so there is no subscriber information available upon subpoena to determine the user's true identity " These are dynamic systems where content and users change very rapidly. This often requires law enforcement officers to be online at the very moment the offense occurs. " Individuals from all over the world use these peer-to-peer programs. While tracking users trading illegal content on peer-to-peer has become increasingly difficult, it is not impossible. Savvy computer users can use certain commands to attain an IP address of a user sending a file. Also, several proactive law enforcement agencies have begun to use secondary programs to identify the IP address of the perpetrator sharing the illegal files. However, these programs must be active at the exact moment of file transfer. Depending on the particular peer-to-peer program, if a user accidentally downloads an illegal file, there is no way for that user to document where the file originated. Considering the massive amounts of files being shared at any given moment, this anonymity provides a cloak of security for those criminals trading images of children being sexually abused. It is quite likely that the extensive swapping of child pornography images on peer-to-peer networks would be reduced if users knew that recipients of the images/movies could easily attain their IP address. At NCMEC we have had some success when we learn about child pornography trading via peer-to-peer networks. Let me cite two recent cases where there was a successful resolution from peer-to-peer CyberTipline reports: " The CyberTipline received an anonymous complaint about a website in which one could share media files using a peer-to-peer network. The reporting person indicated that images of child pornography were available on this site. NCMEC analysts found numerous images of child pornography and determined that one of the suspects posting and distributing child pornography was using an IP address registered to the University of California. NCMEC analysts contacted Campus Police. Because the images were found on the peer-to-peer network, detectives were initially unable to locate the images because the suspect was off-line. As a result, analysts worked with a university detective and assisted in locating the images. Subsequently, university detectives, working with detectives from the Santa Barbara Co. Sheriff's Department High-Tech Crime Unit, were able to verify the existence and location of the operation. A 21-year old suspect was identified and detectives executed a search warrant at his apartment located off campus and seized his computer. A forensic search of the computer found numerous child pornography images. The suspect confessed and the District Attorney's Office filed felony charges of distributing child pornography. " NCMEC received a CyberTipline report indicating that a suspect was offering child pornography through a peer-to-peer program. This reporting person was highly skilled with computers and used commands to document the IP address of the person trading the child pornography images. Using detailed information provided by the reporting person, ECU analysts determined that this IP address originated in Kansas. NCMEC contacted Kansas law enforcement officials and provided documentation of the suspected illegal files being traded. The police apprehended the suspect and charged him with 500 counts of possession/distribution of child pornographic material, sexual exploitation of a child, and indecent liberties with a child. The suspect admitted to raping, sodomizing and sexually abusing his own daughter. It is unlikely this predator would have been arrested if a concerned citizen hadn't known the steps to take when she accidentally received one of his images. It is troublesome to imagine the number of offenders who are not reported because the average citizen does not know how to collect the necessary information. Peer-to-peer program developers could make great strides in protecting children if they allowed the software programs to allow users to log the origination of files. Mr. Chairman, I don't come before you today with a quick, easy solution to this problem, but I can state unequivocally that the problem of illegal child pornography has exploded with the advent of the Internet and that the use of peer-to-peer networks for the distribution of child pornography is growing dramatically. Further, we suspect that it will continue to increase as child pornographers search for lower risk avenues where the possibility of being identified is far less. Federal, state and local law enforcement are more aggressive than ever before, but they must overcome significant barriers. I hope that you can help us remove some of those barriers and help us identify and prosecute those who are misusing the Internet for insidious, criminal purposes. Too many child pornographers feel that they have found a sanctuary, a place where there is virtually no risk of identification or apprehension. In the area of peer-to-peer dissemination of child pornography, I fear that we have only scratched the surface. Far more must be done. NCMEC is willing and eager to play an even larger role in addressing this problem. Related Documents |
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