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Reporting Child Pornography
We at CyberAngels STRONGLY discourage anyone from actively seeking child porn in an effort to report such material. While multiple laws do provide favorable defenses for people who locate child porn and then report it to law enforcement authorities, actively seeking such material creates an impression that the computer user is seeking it for lecherous, lewd, or erotic reasons. Thus, we do not encourage or advocate people to actively find any such websites.
What is Child Pornography?
It is important to understand is that "identifiable minor" means that unless the image can be identified as a real minor child, it is not considered child pornography.
Child pornography is defined under United States federal law as: any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, video, picture, or computer or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where the production of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; such visual depiction is a digital image, computer image, or computer-generated image that is, or is indistinguishable from, that of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or such visual depiction has been created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
"Graphic", when used with respect to a depiction of sexually explicit conduct, means that a viewer can observe any part of the genitals or pubic area of any depicted person or animal during any part of the time that the sexually explicit conduct is being depicted; and the term "indistinguishable" used with respect to a depiction, means virtually indistinguishable, in that the depiction is such that an ordinary person viewing the depiction would conclude that the depiction is of an actual minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. This definition does not apply to depictions that are drawings, cartoons, sculptures, or paintings depicting minors or adults. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2256.
Under present law in U.S. federal court and all states (except Utah), the state bears the burden of proving that the minors in the images purported to be child pornography are real human beings. Computer generated images or drawings do not constitute child pornography.
One common area where people get confused is whether the questioned images exhibit sexually explicit conduct. Under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2256, "sexually explicit conduct" means actual or simulated- (A) sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex; (B) bestiality; (C) masturbation; (D) sadistic or masochistic abuse; or (E) lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person. Thus, a photo that merely exhibits a naked child would not necessarily constitute child porn.
Reporting Child Pornography
In order to report child pornography to the proper authorities, the location of the offending site must be known. A look-up service is available at: http://www.allwhois.com. Enter the website address into the search engines at this site, and it will search for the exact location of where the website is located.
If, after reviewing these rules and laws, you still believe you have uncovered child pornography on the Internet, there are multiple places to report such material. These include, if the site is located in North America, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which coordinates with law enforcement agencies in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Their web address is: http://www.ncmec.org.
If the site is located elsewhere, please submit the report to the Internet Watch Foundation at: http://www.iwf.org.uk/reporting.htm After submitting the report, we encourage you to clear the files out of your internet browser's cache and avoid revisiting the site.
You can also report websites portraying child pornography anywhere in the world at the Virtual Global Taskforce: http://www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com.
Another location to report child porn in the United States is the Internet Crime Complaint Center: http://www.ic3.gov.
After submitting the report, we encourage you to clear the files out of your Internet browser's cache and avoid revisiting the site.
What is Child Pornography?
It is important to understand is that "identifiable minor" means that unless the image can be identified as a real minor child, it is not considered child pornography.
Child pornography is defined under United States federal law as: any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, video, picture, or computer or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where the production of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; such visual depiction is a digital image, computer image, or computer-generated image that is, or is indistinguishable from, that of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or such visual depiction has been created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
"Graphic", when used with respect to a depiction of sexually explicit conduct, means that a viewer can observe any part of the genitals or pubic area of any depicted person or animal during any part of the time that the sexually explicit conduct is being depicted; and the term "indistinguishable" used with respect to a depiction, means virtually indistinguishable, in that the depiction is such that an ordinary person viewing the depiction would conclude that the depiction is of an actual minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. This definition does not apply to depictions that are drawings, cartoons, sculptures, or paintings depicting minors or adults. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2256.
Under present law in U.S. federal court and all states (except Utah), the state bears the burden of proving that the minors in the images purported to be child pornography are real human beings. Computer generated images or drawings do not constitute child pornography.
One common area where people get confused is whether the questioned images exhibit sexually explicit conduct. Under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2256, "sexually explicit conduct" means actual or simulated- (A) sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex; (B) bestiality; (C) masturbation; (D) sadistic or masochistic abuse; or (E) lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person. Thus, a photo that merely exhibits a naked child would not necessarily constitute child porn.
Reporting Child Pornography
In order to report child pornography to the proper authorities, the location of the offending site must be known. A look-up service is available at: http://www.allwhois.com. Enter the website address into the search engines at this site, and it will search for the exact location of where the website is located.
If, after reviewing these rules and laws, you still believe you have uncovered child pornography on the Internet, there are multiple places to report such material. These include, if the site is located in North America, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which coordinates with law enforcement agencies in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Their web address is: http://www.ncmec.org.
If the site is located elsewhere, please submit the report to the Internet Watch Foundation at: http://www.iwf.org.uk/reporting.htm After submitting the report, we encourage you to clear the files out of your internet browser's cache and avoid revisiting the site.
You can also report websites portraying child pornography anywhere in the world at the Virtual Global Taskforce: http://www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com.
Another location to report child porn in the United States is the Internet Crime Complaint Center: http://www.ic3.gov.
After submitting the report, we encourage you to clear the files out of your Internet browser's cache and avoid revisiting the site.
