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T H E I N T E R N E T C Y B E R P O R N A N D

S E X U A L E X P L O I T A T IO N O F C H I L D R E N :

M E D I A M O R A L P A N IC S A N D U R B A N

M Y T H S F O R M I D D L E - C L A S S P A R E N T S ?

R o b e r t o H u g h P o t t e r a n d L y n d y A . P o t te r

2192 Dering Circle, Atlanta, GA 30345

hbp3@cdc.gov)

The Internet as a popular media i s not even one decade old. From i t s ear ly

days o f wide access, concern wi th t he danger s p osed to ch i ld ren and t eens has

been a s t ap l e o f news media and mora l en t repreneur s . C oncern wi th sexua l

preda tor s , cyberporn (o r pornograph ic ma te r ia l house d on nodes o f t he

Wor ld W ide Web ) becam e m edia - induced mora l pan i cs o f t he m id- and l a te -

1990s . This paper examined the Internet and chi ldren in the context of the

Un i ted S ta tes and Aust ra l ia . S tudies of chi ldren 's access to the Internet and

i t ' s ef fects were examined. Par t icular a t tent ion w as paid to the aspects of

Internet dang er as a form of urban legend a ime d a t midd le-c lass parents

who a re ab l e to p rov ide access to t he t echnology r equ ir ed t o access t he dan-

gers of the Web. The intersection of urban mythology, techno logical change,

and mora l s campa igns o f t he 1990s w as exp lored . The ro l e p l ayed by concern

wi th the Internet in the on-going his tory of moral movements and parenta l

responsibi l i ty was discussed.

n t r o d u c t i o n

D i r e w a r n i n g s r e g a r d in g c h i l d r e n h a v i n g a c c e s s t o p o r n o g r a -

p h y o n th e I n te r n e t, a n d s t o r i e s o f c h i l d r e n b e i n g l u r e d i n t o s e x u a l

e x p l o i t a t i o n b y a d u l t s p r o w l i n g t h e I n t e r n e t b r i n g to m i n d t h e e x p e -

r i e n c e o f l is t e n in g t o a m o r n i n g c u r r e n t a f f a i rs s h o w f e a t u r e d o n t h e

A u s t r a l ia n B r o a d c a s t C o r p o r a t i o n ( A B C ) R a d i o N a t i o n a l in 1 9 9 6 .

T h e h o s t w a s t a lk i n g t o a 1 5 - y e a r o l d g i rl f r o m W e s t e r n A u s t r a l i a

a b o u t th e w o r l d s t h e I n te r n e t h a d o p e n e d u p f o r he r. A f t e r a s c e r-

t a i n in g t h a t t h e g i r l w a s u s i n g h e r b r o t h e r ' s a c c o u n t t h r o u g h a u n i -

31

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3 2 S e x u a l i t y

u l t u r e

ve rs i t y ( the improp e r na ture o f t h i s appa ren t l y was l os t on t he hos t ) ,

t h e s e c o n d q u e s t i o n w a s w h e t h e r t h e g i r l h a d a c c e s s e d p o r n o g r a -

p h y v i a th e W e b . H e r r e s p o n s e w a s s o m e t h i n g a l o n g t h e li n e s o f:

N o . I t ' s a l i t t l e l i k e X - r a t e d v i d e o s . Y o u c a n g e t t h e m b y o r d e r i n g f r o m

F i n l a n d , b u t i f y o u d o n ' t w a n t t h e m , t h e y w o n ' t f i n d y o u .

T h e i n n o c e n c e o f th e g i r l r e g a r d i n g t h e f a c t t h a t X - r a t e d v i d e o s

were l ega l l y avai lab l e by ma i l -o rde r f rom e i t he r the Aus t ra l i an Capi -

t a l Te r r i to ry or t he N or the rn Te r r i to ry (a s we l l a s a l l eged ly a m ys t e -

r io u s b l a c k v a n i n h e r o w n c i ty ) w a s o u t w e i g h e d b y t h e s i m p l e

o b s e r v a ti o n t h a t, i f y o u d o n ' t g o l o o k i n g f o r t h em , t h e y a r e n ' t l i k e l y

t o f in d y o u .

T h e h o s t o f t h e p r o g r a m , w h o e x p r e s s e d d i s b e l i e f t h a t t h e g i r l

h a d n o t a c c i d e n t a l l y e n c o u n t e r e d s m u t o n t h e I n t e rn e t , th e n t u r n e d

t o q u e s ti o n s a b o u t b e i n g p r o p o s i t i o n e d o r a s k e d t o m e e t s t ra n g e r s

v i a t he In t e rne t . Aga in , t he g i r l s t a t ed t ha t , a l t hough no such en-

c o u n t e r s h a d o c c u r r ed , i f t h e y h a d s h e w o u l d s i m p l y fo l l o w t h e

s a m e a p p r o a c h s h e w o u l d i f a s t r a n g e r c a l le d h e r a n d a s k e d h e r o n

a b l i nd da t e . She wo uld a r ran ge t o mee t i n a publ i c p l ace acco mp a-

n i e d b y t r u s t e d f r i e n d s u n t i l s h e c a m e t o k n o w t h e p e r s o n w e l l

e n o u g h t o f e e l s a fe g o i n g a n y w h e r e w i t h t h e m . A g a i n , s e n s i b i l i t y

o n t h e p a r t o f t h e g i r l s e e m e d t o b e t h e o r d e r o f t h e d a y . T h e c r u-

s a d e b y t h e h o s t c o n t i n u e d u n a b a t e d w i t h a m o r e s y m p a t h e t i c a c a-

d e m i c g u e s t w h o w a s m o r e t h a n w i l l i n g t o e m p h a s i z e t h e d a n g e r s

a ssoc i a t ed w i th the In t e rue t and sex .

T h e A u s t r al ia n v e r s i o n o f ime (E lmer -Dewi t t , 1995; see a l so

E lmer -D ewi t t , 1993 , 1994) had j us t r ecen t ly pub l i shed a cove r s t o ry

o n C y b e r p o r n t h a t f e a tu r e d p r o m i n e n t l y s to r i es o f u n s o l i c i te d

t h u m b n a i l p i c tu r e s o f p o r n o g r a p h i c a c ts b e i n g e m a i l e d t o p r e -t e e n

c h i ld r e n a n d t h e c o n ta c t o f y o u n g b o y s b y p e d o p h i l e s s e e k i n g p r e y.

S t o r ie s o f l ib r a r y c o m p u t e r s b e i n g u s e d b y s c h o o l b o y s t o f i n d a n d

d o w n - l o a d p o r n o g r a p h y w e r e t h e n b e i n g f e a tu r e d i n t h e A u s t r a -

l i a n m e d i a as a l m o s t s t a p le f i l l e r f o r s l o w n e w s d a y s . G e n e r a l l y

t h e s e r ef e r r e d t o th e s a m e i n c i d e n t a t a m e t r o p o l i ta n s c h o o l , w i t h

r e q u i s i te i n t e rv i e w s w i t h l o c a l s c h o o l li b r a r i a n s w h o w o u l d a g r e e

tha t, ye s , the sam e th ing could hap pen h e re . To a pe rson , how eve r ,

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The I n t erne t C yb erporn and Sexua l Exp l o i ta t i on o f C h i l dren

t h e y a l w a y s n o t e d t h a t it h a d n o t y e t h a p p e n e d a s f a r a s t h e y k n ew .

I n f ac t, t h er e w e r e v e r y f e w d o c u m e n t e d c a s e s o f s c h o o l - a g e d c h i l -

d ren access ing po rno grap hi c s i te s e i t he r a t s chool , pub l i c l ib ra r -

i e s , o r i n t he i r homes .

I t w a s a t t h is p o i n t t h a t w e b e c a m e i n t e r e s te d i n t h e r o l e t h a t

c h i ld r e n , p o r n o g r a p h y a n d t h e I n t e r n e t w e r e p l a y i n g i n t h e s h a p -

i n g o f p u b l ic o p i n io n a h e a d o f g o v e r n m e n t a l p o l i c y o n t h e r e g u la -

t i o n o f t h e I n t e r n e t i n A u s t r a li a . T h i s w a s t o w a r d t h e e n d o f t h e

Au s t ra l ian Fede ra l Pa r l i am enta ry i nqui ry i n to the regu l a t i on of On-

L i n e S e r v ic e s . U p o n r e t u r n i n g t o t h e U n i t e d S t a te s , t h e d e b a t e o v e r

t h e C o m m u n i c a t io n s D e c e n c y A c t ( C D A ) h a d j u s t r e su l te d i n t h e

pass ing of t ha t a ct . Sho r t l y af te r , the l aw su i ts began t ha t u l t ima te ly

l e d to t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t o f th e U n i t e d S t a te s n u l l i f y i n g th e C D A .

W ha t becam e in te re s ti ng i n bo th i ns t ances was t he gene ra t i on gap

i n k n o w l e d g e a b o u t t h e n e w t e c h n o l o g y b e t w e e n c h i ld r e n a n d p a r -

en t s and the ro le t ha t s exua l con t en t p l ay ed i n e s t ab l i sh ing t he dan-

ge r o f t he new t echnology . Th a t the re was prec ious l i tt l e sys t ema t i c

e m p i r ic a l e v i d e n c e t o b a c k t h e i s o l a te d h o r r o r s t o r ie s l e d u s to

e x a m i n e t h e r o l e t h a t m y t h o l o g y a b o u t t h e s e x u a l c o n t e n t o f t h e

I n t e m e t w a s p l a y i n g in w a r n i n g p a r e n t s a b o u t t h e d a n g e r s o f a l-

l o w i n g t h e i r c h i l d r e n u n s u p e r v i s e d a n d u n r e g u l a t e d a c c e s s to t h i s

n e w t e c h n o l o g y . T h e r e i n l i e s th e c r u x o f t h i s a r t ic l e.

W h a t i s C y b e r p o r n ? : O n l i n e C o n t e n t a n d A c c e s s t o E x p l i c it

S exu a l S i t es

C y b e r p o r n is t h e t e r m g i v e n t o p o r n o g r a p h i c b u l l e t i n b o a r d s ,

d ig i ti z ed images , and i n t e rac t ive s i te s ava i l ab l e t h roug h loca t ions

o n t h e W o r l d - W i d e W e b ( W W W ) . M o r e s p e c i fi c a ll y , t h e te r m r e -

f e rs t o s u c h i n f o r m a t i o n l o c a t e d o n n o d e s o f t h e b r o a d e r in f o r -

ma t ion supe rh ighway. Som e o f the i n forma t ion and images ava i lab l e

t h e r e ar e n o t h i n g m o r e t h a n w h a t i s a v a i l a b l e in m o s t n e w s a g e n -

c i es t h r o u g h o u t A u s t r a l ia o r a t n e w s c o u n t e r s i n N o r t h A m e r i c a n

a reas. O the rs c l ea r ly v io l a t e t he gu id e l i ne s fo r on- l i ne se rv i ce s i n

A us t ra l i a (Hansa rd , 1995), and ap pa ren t l y a t l e a s t som e U.S . s t a t e s

( e. g ., B l a d e , 1 99 3 ). U n l i k e t h e c o n c e p t s o f p o r n o g r a p h y , o b -

s c e n i t y o r ( i n ) d e c e n c y t h e c o m p o n e n t s o f t h e I n t e r n e t a r e d e -

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3 4 S e x u a l i t y u l t u r e

f i nab le . B eyo nd t ha t, how eve r , t hey becom e a b i t mor e con f us i ng .

H er e w e w i l l b r i e f ly ou t li ne som e o f the m a j o r com pon en t s r e la t ed

t o t he i s s ue o f cyb e r po r n f o r t he i n t e r e s t ed reade r.

T h e i m e ( E l mer - D ew i t t, 1995 ) a r t i c le bega n by no t i ng a ve r y

i mpor t an t , t hough no t neces s a r i l y r ecogn i zed , q ua l i f i ca t i on abou t

t he i n f amou s R i m m ( 1995) s tudy , name l y , t ha t mos t o f t he da t a

abou t po r nog r ap hy w er e c o l l ec t ed f r om U s ene t , no t t he I n t e rne t . I f

t ha t beg i ns t o con f us e you , you a r e am ong m os t ca s ua l u s e rs o f the

informat ion superh ighway. These a re im por tan t d i s t inc t ions because

e a c h h a s a s e t o f c o n c e r n s a b o u t c o n t e n t th a t o f t e n b e c o m e f u s e d

in to an overa ll concern wi th som eth ing ca l l ed the In te rne t , thoug h

i t m ay be s om e t h i ng r el a ted , bu t d i s ti nc t.

T h e D a n g e r P o s e d b y t h e I n t e r n e t S y n o p s i s

T h e r e a re m a n y d a n g e r o u s i d ea s , p r o d u c ts , a n d p e o p l e t h a t

m i g h t b e e n c o u n t e re d b y a n i n d i v i d u a l s u r f in g t h e w e b . A m o n g

t hes e a r e i n s t ruc t i ons i n v i o l ence ( E l mer - D e w i t t , 1995 ) , i n f o r m a-

t i o n f ro m h a t e g r o u p s a n d c u l t s ( A u s t r a l ia n B r o a d c a s t i n g A u -

t h o r i t y [A B A ] , 1 9 9 5 ), g a m b l i n g ( A C O S S , 1 9 9 7 ) , i n v a s i o n o f

p r iv a c y , i n f r i n g e m e n t o f i n t e l l e c t u a l p r o p e r t y r i g h ts , g e n d e r i m -

ba l an ce o f gende r equa l it y , cu l t u r a l i mpe r i a l is m ( A B A , 1995), and

the focus o f th i s paper , fo rms o f sexua l in form at ion and represen ta-

t ion . I n s ho r t, eve r y conce i v ab l e f o r m o f dange r ous i n f o r m a t i on ,

a c t i v i t y , a n d p e r s o n s f o u n d i n s o c i e t y m i g h t a l s o b e f o u n d i n

cyberspace .

R e t u r n i ng t o t he i l l u s tr a t i on a t t he be g i nn i ng o f t h i s a r t ic l e , ev i-

d e n c e w a s p r e s e n te d t o t h e N e w S o u t h W a l es P o l i c e R o y a l C o m -

m i s s i on o f pedoph i l e s u s i ng t he I n t e r ne t t o e s t ab l i sh con t ac t s w i t h

y o u n g m a l es a n d t h e n t o lu r e t h e m a w a y f r o m h o m e f o r i m m o r a l

p u r p o se s . S o m e o f th e c o n t a c ts w e r e e v e n m a d e f r o m o v e r se a s ,

accord ing to the t es t imony (Meade , 1997). Th e R im m (1995) s tudy,

w i d e l y d i s s e m i n a t e d b y

i m e

magaz i ne ( E l mer - D ew i t t , 1995 ) ,

po i n t ed to t he u se o f t he I n t e r ne t t o acces s s it e s deem ed t o be po r -

nog r aph i c? ' S ti ll o t he r s to r i e s ex is t o f youn g peo p l e s eek i ng an d

r ece i v i ng i n s tr uc t i on i n t he cons t r uc t i on o f p i pe - bo m bs and o t he r

v io lenc e , espe c ia l ly in the U ni ted S ta tes .

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T h e I n t er n e t C y b e r p o r n a n d S e x u a l

E x p l o i t a t io n o f C h i l d r e n 5

W e m a y co n c l u d e t h a t a n y f o r m o f d e v i a n c e c o n c e iv a b l e i n

t h e p h y s i c a l w o r l d i s p o t e n t i a ll y a v a i la b l e in c y b e r s p a c e . W h e t h e r

or no t i t i s a c tua l l y accessed (or ea s i l y access ib l e ) i s ano the r i s sue .

L e t u s n o w t u r n b r i e f l y t o e m p i r i c a l s t u d ie s o f t h e a v a i l a b i l i ty o f

c y b e r p o r n .

E v i d e n c e o f t h e a n g e r

I t i s l e g i t im a t e t o s t at e th a t th e r e a r e m a n y s i te s o n t h e W W W

t h a t p re s e n t t h e m s e l v e s a s c o n t a i n i n g s e x u a l c o n te n t . E x a c t l y w h a t

t h a t c o n t e n t is , a n d h o w i t i s a c c e ss e d , b e c o m e s d i f f e r e n t le v e l s o f

t h e i s s u e. T h e r e i s r e l a t i v e l y l i tt l e e m p i r ic a l s t u d y o f t h e t y p e s o f

s e x u a l l y e x p l i c i t m a t e r i a l a v a i l a b l e a n d t h e e a s e o f a c c e s s t o t h i s

ma te r i a l . For exam ple , in a Ju ly 14, 1997 , Al l Th ing s Co ns id-

e r e d ( U . S . N a t i o n a l P u b l i c R a d i o ) s e g m e n t B r o o k e G l a d s t o n e

p r e s e n t e d h e r r e s u l ts o f s e a r c h i n g t h e I n t e r n e t f o r s e x u a l c o n t e n t .

S h e n o t e d t h a t t h e r e w e r e m a n y s i te s t h a t f e a t u r e d a n i m a t e d c h a r -

ac t er s , com e-ons requ i r i ng c red i t c a rds , and sof t porn . Ho weve r ,

i t w a s o n l y o n t h e U s e n e t p o r t i o n o f t h e I n t e r n e t w h e r e s h e f o u n d

ha rd core ma te r i a l s f ree ly ava i l ab le . He r j ourn a l i s t i c excu rs ion is

cons i s t en t wi th m os t o the r account s o f sea rch ing for sexua l con t en t

w e h a v e g a t h e r e d f r o m f a c u l t y a n d s t u d e n t s a t s e v e r a l u n i v e r s i t ie s

and i n the i r p r iva t e hom es . T he re i s a l o t o f p rom ise , bu t no t a g rea t

d e a l d e li v er e d ; d e p e n d i n g u p o n o n e ' s d e f i n it io n o f p o r n o g r a p h i c

of course .

A n e c d o t e s a n d m e d i a r e p o r ts a b o u n d o f se x u a l p r e d a t o r s u s i n g

the In t e rne t to con t ac t and l u re ch i l d ren and t eens fo r sexu a l exp lo i -

t a t ion , ye t the re rem a ins v e ry l i t tl e em pi r i ca l r e sea rch o n t he sub-

j e c t. A n e a r l y s y s t e m a t i c e x c u r s i o n i n t o t h e s e x u a l c o n t e n t o f t h e

W eb was prov ided i n t he l ead-up t o t he Inves t i ga t i on i n to t he Con-

t e n t o f O n - l in e S e r v i c e s ( A B A , 1 9 9 5) . T h e A u s t r a l ia n O f f i ce o f

F i l m a n d L i t e r a t u r e C l a s s i f i c a t i o n ( O F L C ) c o n d u c t e d a 2 7 - h o u r

t a rge ted sea rch for W W W s i te s con t a in ing sex ua l l y exp l ic i t ma te r i -

a l s fo r t he ABA A t t h a t s t a g e i t w a s t h e o n l y g o v e r n m e n t - s a n c -

t i o n e d s t u d y o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y - a v a i l a b l e s e x u a l c o n t e n t . T h e r e i s

a n a d d i t i o n a l a d v a n t a g e t o e m p l o y i n g t h i s s e a r c h , a s w e l l . T h e

O F L C i s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r c l a s s i f y i n g a ll v id e o s , f i lm s , a n d v i d e o

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36 Sexu a l i ty C ul t ure

games shown or h ired in Austral ia . These cla ssif icat ions include

an X rat ing for v ideos and Categories 1 (e.g ., Playb oy) and 2

(i.e. , hard co re sexually explici t ) for prin t l i terature, as well as

th e r easo n s wh y mate r i a l mig h t b e r e fu se d c l ass i f i ca t io n

(banned), whi ch specify the level of sexual content allowable (See

Appendix). The results of th is research incl uded (ABA, 1995:

39-40):

No child pornography located after seven hours of specific searching;

An extensive list of bomb-making recipes was found after one hour of

searching;

Categories 1 and 2 material was advertised as being available or was sug-

gested to be available on the Web. However, after searching for seven

hours, none was able to be immediately downloaded;

Approximately 90 percent of the category 1 and category 2 level listings

on the Web had on-screen warnings of content and an age recommenda-

tion, while 10 percent had no specific warnings but contained material of

an unrestricted (non-sexual) nature when accessed;

Approximately 60 percent of sites required the searcher to apply to an

address with details and/or credit information before the material could be

obtained;

Eight hours of searching in Usenet found 17 still photos of refused classi-

fication level material including pornography, bestiality, bondage and

instruction in matters of crime (bestiality, extreme bondage, and instruc-

tions in matter of crime are banned in Australia);

No specific warnings accompanied the site addresses in the Usenet envi-

ronment, though the names of the addresses themselves suggested the

content (e.g., alt.binaries.bondage). Some of the material accessed in the

Usenet environment had to be decompressed before it could be viewed

(requiring reasonable experience with a variety of decompression soft-

ware tools);

The OFLC informal search indicated that the likelihood of on-line users

being involuntarily exposed to material at the refused classification level,

category 1 publication level or category 2 publication level, to be low

More recently , the ABA (ABA, 2000) comm issi oned a study to

exami ne the views of children (age 10-15) about m edi a harm (tele-

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The I n t erne t C yberporn and Sexua l Exp l o i ta t i on o f C h i l dren 37

vision, movies, videos, and the Internet). It is important to note that

the researchers were interested in how children themselves view

and assess the concept of harm in relation to media, rather than

imposing adult or researcher notions of harm. The authors noted

that the 50 Australian children who participated in the focus groups

were remarkably blase (ABA, 2000: 44) about the sexual mate-

rials they encounter on the Internet. Finding sexually explicit mate-

rial on the Internet was viewed by these children as a rite of passage,

helping to mark transitions from childhood to early adulthood. Al-

though some of the children were clearly appalled by the materials

they encountered, they did not characterise these reactions as in-

dicative of harm (ABA, 2000: 45). In fact, the moral dilemma

posed by unwanted Internet experiences was most often related

to the reactions attributed to parents and other adults should they

discover the exposure to pornography (ABA, 2000: 42). These

children felt that they were capable of making decisions about what

sorts of information were harmful to them, and how to deal with

such material. The children interviewed for the research did not

believe filters were necessary for them, though the ABA continued

to recommend parents make the decisions with regard to filtering

software. In the end, access to the Internet offered these children an

opportunity to engage with the much larger world. It was the viola-

tion of the child's 'normal social role in relation to adult authority

that seemed to bother the adults with regard to these children and

the Internet.

In the United States, careful empirical research on children and

the dangers of the Internet has been rare. Responding to national

interest, the National Center for Missing and Exploi ted Children

(NCMEH) contracted with the Crimes Against Children Research

Center at the University of New Hampshire to conduct a national

survey of adolescent Internet users. Finkelhor, Mitchell, and Wolak

(2000) reported the results of the first U.S. nat ional study of on-line

vict imization of minors (n = 1501; ages 10-17) using the Internet

on a regular basis. The range of victimizations included sexual so-

licitations and approaches, unsolici ted receipt of sexually explicit

images or messages, and other forms of threat or harassment

(Finkelhor et al., 2000: x). They found that 19 percent of the re-

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38 Sexu a l i ty C ul t ure

spondent s rece ived a sexu a l so l i c it a ti on or approach v i a the In t em e t

in t he p rev ious yea r . Th ese i nc lud ed s i t ua ti ons whe re som eone t r i ed

t o g e t th e t e e n s to t a l k a b o u t s e x w h e n t h e t e e n d i d n o t w a n t to , o r

a s k e d u n w a n t e d q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e t e e n ' s i n t i m a t e l i f e, s o l ic i ta -

t i ons t o do sexua l t h ing s t he t een d id no t wan t to do , i nv i t a t i ons t o

r u n a w a y ( f o r v u l n e r a b l e y o u t h s ) , a n d c l o s e f r i e n d s h i p s f o r m e d

w i t h ad u l ts o n - l in e w h e n t h e s e h a d i n c l u d e d s e x u a l o v e r tu r e s .

T w o - t h i r d s ( 6 5 % ) o f t h e s e x u a l o v e rt u re i n c i d e n t s o c c u r r e d i n

c h a t r o o m s w i t h j u s t u n d e r o n e -q u a r te r ( 2 4 % ) c o m i n g th r o u g h

ins t an t m essa ge fac i l it i e s . In 10 pe rcen t o f t he ca se s , t he pe rpe -

t r a to r a s k e d f o r a p h y s i c a l m e e t i n g , a n d a h a n d f u l a t t e m p t e d o t h e r

f o r m s o f c o m m u n i c a t io n . I n m o s t i n s t a n c e s , t h e y o u t h e n d e d t h e

so l i c i ta t i ons , us in g a va r i e ty o f s t ra t eg i e s l ike l ogg ing of f , l e av in g

the s it e , o r b lo ck in g the pe rso n (F ink e lho r e t a l. , 2000: 4 ) . Jus t

u n d e r h a l f ( 4 9 % ) o f t h e y o u t h s s t a t e d t h a t t h e y h a d t o l d n o o n e

a b o u t t h e i n c i d e n t , a n d o n l y 1 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e s e i n c i d e n t s w e r e

r e p o r t ed t o a n y a u t h o r i t y f ig u r e o r o r g a n i z a t io n . T h r e e - q u a r t e r s

( 7 5 % ) o f t h e y o u t h s a id t h e y h a d n o o r m i n o r r e a c ti o n s ( n o t v e r y

u p s e t o r a f r a i d ) a s a r e s u l t o f t h e i n c id e n t . A m o n g t h o s e s o l i c i te d

f i v e o r m o r e t im e s , 1 7 p e r c e n t d e m o n s t r a t e d f i v e o r m o r e s y m p -

t o m s o f d e p r e s s i o n a t t h e t im e o f t h e i n te r v ie w .

A k e y i n g r e d i e n t i n th e t e m p l a t e o f I n t e r n e t p r e d a t o r s t o r i e s is

t h e a d u lt s o li c it in g a c h i ld fo r s e x u a l p u r p o s e s . I n t h e F i n k e l h o r e t

a l. ( 20 0 0 : 6 - 7 ) s tu d y , 3 p e r c e n t o f t h e y o u t h s r e p o r t e d f o r m i n g

c l o s e o n l in e f r i e n d s h i p s w i t h a d u lt s, m o s t l y i n t h e y o u n g a d u l t

a g e r a n g e (1 8 - 25 ) . O n l y t w o o f t h e f r i e n d s h i p s f o r m e d m a y

h a v e h a d s e x u a l a sp e c t s . T h e a u t h o r s p o i n t o u t t h a t, w h i l e m i -

n o r s m a y b e f o r m i n g f r i e n d s h i p s o n l i n e , t h e p r o p o r t i o n t h a t b e -

c o m e s e x u a l a p p e a r s to b e v e r y s m a l l. S e v e n y o u t h s ( 0 . 4 % o f

t h e sa m p l e ) r ep o r t ed b e i n g e n c o u r a g e d t o r u n a w a y f r o m h o m e

b y s o m e o n e t h e y m e t v i a t h e In t e rn e t . A d u l ts c o m p r i s e d o n e -

q u a r t e r o f t h e s e x u a l s o l i c i t a t i o n s re p o r t e d b y t h e t e e n r e s p o n -

d e n t s , w i t h m o s t o f t h o s e r e p o r t e d t o b e i n t h e y o u n g a d u l t a g e

g r o u p . O n l y a h a n d f u l o f t h e s e x u a l s o l ic it o rs w e r e o v e r t h e ag e

of 25 . Juven i l e s accounted for 48 pe rcen t o f the i den t i f i ed pe rpe t ra-

t o rs ( 2 7 % o f u n k n o w n a g e ) , w i t h a r o u n d t w o - t h i rd s b e i n g m a l e .

O v e r a l l , i t w o u l d a p p e a r t h a t t h e l e v e l s o f s e x u a l s o l i c i ta t i o n a n d

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The I n t erne t C yberporn and Sexua l Exp l o i t a ti on o f C h i l dren 39

the profile of the solicitors are similar to those encountered n physical

space by teens.

One quarter (25%) of the youths reported receiving unwanted

exposure to sexual material while online. This exposure consisted

primarily of images of naked people (94%), while just over one-

third (38%) received images of people having sex (it was possible

to have more than one experience). Exposure occurred in two pri-

mary manners. First, 281 (19%) of the youths had been exposed to

unwanted materials while surfing the net. Just under hal f (47%) of

these were discovered while engaged in a search for other materi-

als, and 17 percent each as either a misspelled address or as a result

of clicking on an address within a site. Just over one-third (36%) of

those who stumbled upon the images found the experience dis-

tressing, while about one-quarter (24%) of those in the latter cat-

egory were distressed. Among those who received unsolicited

materials via their private emai l address (n = 112; 7%), over half

(58%), found the experience distressing (Finkelhor et al., 2000:

13-19).

Cyberstalking as harassment or using the Internet to spread

rumors about someone (Ogilvie, 2000), was exper ienced by 95 of

the respondents (6%). One-third of these (n = 37) reported the inci-

dent to be very distressing (Finkelhor et al., 2000:21-26). Among

the perpetrators of the cyberstalking, 63 percent were reported to

be other minors, and 14 percent aged 18 or over. Whi le most of the

harassed teens had little or no reaction to the event, nearly one-

third (31%) were very/extremely upset, and one-fif th (19%) were

very/extremely afraid by the incident. Finkelhor et al. suggest that

this area of harassment, which we have included under

cyberstalking, is an area that deserves further attention with regard

to children.

Additionally, the NCMEH identified 785 traveler cases in 1999;

cases in which a child or adult traveled to physically meet with

someone he or she had first encountered on the Internet (Allen, in

Finkelhor et al., 2000: vi). These reports consisted of 302 from the

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 272 from local police agen-

cies, 186 reported directly to the NCMEH, and an additional 25

from news organizations (Allen, in Finkelhor et al., 2000: vii). Allen

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40 Sexuality Culture

did allow that some of these were duplicate cases. Unfortunately,

he did not report how many of these physical contact situations

eventuated in actual sexual contact, consensual or non-consensual,

between the travelers His information also failed to identify the

age relationship between the travelers, which is a deficit given the

results of the study to which his comments are an introduction.

These findings are consistent with what has been reported in

non-sensationalizedjoumalisticaccounts of cyberpom and the ef-

forts of one of the current authors to access such sites. With this

seeming lack of supporting evidence for claims of pemicious por-

nography leaping out at uninterested Internet users, one is left to

wonder why there has been such an emphasis on this topic in the

media and the resultant regulatory efforts such as the Communica-

tions Decency Act.

C y b e r p o r n a s a M e d i a I n d u c e d M o r a l P a n i c

Fear of cyberpom or pornography on the Intemet is a form of

moral panic. The term moral panic is taken from the work of

Stanley Cohen (1980). Cohen described a condition, situation or

group of persons who become defined as a threat to social values

and interests as providing the grounds for a moral panic. Their ac-

tivities, real or imagined, are then presented in the mass media in a

stereotypic and stylized manner. Moral entrepreneurs, such as

religious leaders, politicians, other fight-thinking people and ex-

peas are then called upon to provide appropriate answers to the

problem. Some form of solution to the problem is developed and

the problem then disappears from sight for some period of time.

Cohen pointed out that the source of the threat may be quite

novel, such as the Internet. Or the problem may be something that

has been there for quite a while but now, for whatever reason, be-

comes publicly a problem. Some moral panics pass just as quickly

as they appear on the scene. Others may have serious impacts with

long-lasting effects. These effects may be found in the formulation

of social and legal policy which have far-reaching implications.

The attention paid to the issues of cyberporn over the past several

years by the North American and Australasian media suggests that

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The Internet Cyberporn and Sexual Exploitation

o f h i l d r e n

41

i t i s a fu l l -b lown m ora l pan i c . A lmo s t a l l t e l ev i s ion new s prog ram s

a n d c u r r e n t a f f ai rs m a g a z i n e s o n t h e s e t w o c o n t i n e n t s h a v e c a r r i e d

s o m e i t e m w a r n i n g o f t h e p o s s i b i l i t y th a t s c h o o l s t u d e n t s o r c h i l -

d r e n w i l l f in d a n d d o w n l o a d p o r n o g r a p h i c m a t e r ia l s f r o m th e

I n t er n e t . O r , in a m o r e s i n is t e r v e i n , th a t p o r n o g r a p h y w i l l i m p o s e

i t se l f on ch i l d use rs o f t he In t e rne t , o r t ha t ch i l d ren w i l l be l u red

a w a y b y p e d o p h i le s .

In the Un i t ed S t a te s , S t aUings (1990) and Be s t (1991) h ave o u t -

l in e d t h e w a y s i n w h i c h m e d i a o r g a n i z a t io n s c o n s t ru c t p a tt e rn s a n d

d e g r e e s o f r is k b y f o c u s i n g o n s i m i la r it ie s a m o n g a w i d e r a n g e o f

individ ua l inc idents to cons t ruc t a r i sk pa t te rn, w hi le s im ul taneo usly

i g n o r i n g e v i d e n c e w h i c h w o u l d r e n d e r a p a t te r n p r o b l em a t i c. B o t h

of t hese wr i t er s dem ons t ra t e t he ac t i v i t ie s o f new s o rgan i za t i ons i n

a n a t t e m p t t o d e f i n e t h e s i t u a t io n f o r t h e i r c o n s u m e r s . I n t h i s w a y

m e d i a o r g a n iz a t io n s b e c o m e s e c o n d a r y c l a i m s - m a k e r s c h o o s -

i n g w h i c h p r i m a r y c l a im s t h e y w i l l l e g i ti m i z e a n d w h i c h r e-

f o r m s t h e y w i l l p u s h . B e s t ( 1 9 9 1 ) a g a i n d e v e l o p s t h e i d e a o f a

c u l t u ra l t o o l k i t o f t e m p l a t e s , w h i c h m e d i a o r g a n i z a t i o n s c a n

f i t o n t o a p u t a ti v e s o c i al p r o b l e m i n o r d e r t o r e n d e r i t u n d e r s t a n d -

ab l e t o the gen e ra l pub l i c . We w i l l r e tu rn t o t he app l i ca t i on of t h i s

t e m p l a t e a n d w h y i t m i g h t o c c u r l at er .

yberporn and hi ldren

B o r r o w i n g t h e t e r m i n o l o g y f r o m M a r y D o u g l a s ( 1 9 6 6 ), c h i l -

d r e n t r u ly r e p r e se n t s y m b o l s o f p u r i t y a n d d a n g e r o u s n e s s C h i l -

d r e n s i m u l t a n e o u s l y r e p r e s e n t t h e p r o m i s e o f t h e f u t u r e a n d t h e

d a n g e r s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e u n c e r t a i n t y o f t h e f u tu r e . O n t h e o n e

h a n d , w e h o p e f o r o n l y t h e b e s t a n d p u r e s t f r o m c h i l d r e n . I n t h e

d e l i n q u e n c y l i te r a tu r e t h e r e i s a tr a d i ti o n o f s t u d y i n g t h e i m p a c t o f

m i d d l e - c la s s v a l u e s a n d c u l t u r e u p o n t h e c o n t r o l o f l o w e r - a n d

wo rking-c lass chi ldren (e.g ., Co hen, 1955) . Pla t t (1977) d ocum ented

t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f th e p u b l i c s c h o o l s y s t e m a s a t o o l f o r t h e e x -

pans io n of d i sc ip l i ne and con t ro l o f w ork ing-c l a s s ch i l d ren for cap i-

t a l is t p r o d u c t i o n n e e d s . T h r o u g h t h e i n c u l c a t i o n o f m i d d l e - c l a s s

k n o w l e d g e a n d v a l u e s o n w o r k i n g - c l a s s c h i l d r en , c a p i t a l is t s o ci et -

i e s h a v e s o u g h t t o m a x i m i z e t h e p u r i t y o f c h i l d r e n a n d a d o le s -

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4 2 S e x u a l i t y u l t u r e

cen t s ( t ho ugh ce r t a in ly soc i e t i e s w i th d i f fe ren t c l a s s s t ruc ture s a t -

t emp t t he same pro cess i n t he soc i a l i za t i on process) .

O n t h e o t h e r h an d , w e k n o w t h a t c h i ld r e n b e c o m e t h e d a n g e r o f

t h e f u tu r e , e s p e c i a l l y i f n o t p r o t e c t e d f r o m c o r r u p t i n g i n f l u e n c e s .

T h e t w o p r i m a r y i n s t i tu t i o n s o f s o c i a li z a ti o n , f a m i l y a n d s c h o o l ,

seek t o min im ize t h is cor rup tion , i f on ly fo r the ea se o f ma in t a in ing

o r d e r in th e h o m e o r c l a ss r o o m ( G o t t f r e d s o n & H i r s c h i , 1 9 9 0) .

T h e s e t w o i n s t i t u ti o n a l s e tt i n g s ar e a l s o v i e w e d b y v a r i o u s p e r -

spec t ives as the m ost e f fec t ive se t t ings for the reproduct ion of dom i-

n a n t s o c i e t a l v a l u e s . D e p e n d i n g u p o n o n e ' s p h i l o s o p h i c a l

o r i e n ta t io n , t h e s e d o m i n a n t s o c i e ta l v a l u e s a r e e i t h e r n e c e s s a r y o r

r e p r e s s iv e . Mu c h o f t h i s t a s k o f e f f e c t i v e s o c i a l iz a t i o n f a l ls t o

p a r e n ts . P a r e n t i n g b e c o m e s a m a j o r e d u c a t i o n a l i n d u s t r y a i m e d a t

p r e v e n t i n g i m p r o p e r b e h a v io r . T h e r e i s n o u n d e r e s t i m a t i n g t h e

v o l u m e o f m a t e r i a l a v a i la b l e to g u i d e p a r e n t s i n t h i s t as k , f r o m t h e

t echni ca l t o the mo ra l / ph i l osophica l . Thu s , con t ro l l i ng t he t ypes o f

i n f o r m a t i o n to w h i c h c h i l d r e n ar e e x p o s e d b e c o m e s a n i m p o r t a n t

t a s k f o r p a r e n t s a n d m o r a l e n t r e p r e n e u r s . N o w h e r e i s t h i s m o r e

a p p a r e n t t h a n i n t h e m e d i a a t t e n t i o n d e v o t e d t o t h e s u b j e c t o f

c y b e r p o r n a n d o n - l i n e s e x . W h a t i s i n t e r e s ti n g h e r e i s t h a t, f o r

o n c e , t h e t ar g e t o f th e a d m o n i t i o n s o v e r p r o t e c t in g c h i l d r e n f r o m a

p a r t ic u l a r e v i l a re a i m e d p r i m a r i l y a t m i d d l e - c l a s s p a r e n t s , r a t h e r

t h a n b e i n g i m p o s e d o n t h e w o r k i n g - c la s s p a re n ts .

Leon g (1991) p rov ides an ana lys i s o f one pa ren t a l r i gh t s ' o r em -

p o w e r m e n t m o v e m e n t w h i c h b e g a n i n t h e 1 98 0 s, b u t w h i c h m a i n -

t a in s a p r e s e n c e i n t h e c u r r e n t d e b a t e o v e r s e x u a l c o n t e n t o n t h e

I n te rn e t. S h e e x a m i n e s th e r o le p l a y e d b y t h e P a r e n t s ' M u s i c R e -

s o u r c e C e n t e r ( P M R C ) i n t h e i n i t i a l a t t e m p t s t o h a v e t h e l y r i c s

o f po p m u s i c , e s p e c i a l ly r ap a n d h e a v y m e t a l g e n r es , r a t ed o r

c l a s s i f i e d . T h e P M R C a l s o l o b b i e d t o h a v e t h e l y r i c s o n t h e

a l b u m o r C . D . p u b l i s h e d i n a p l a c e w h e r e t h e y c o u l d b e r e a d b y

p a r e n t s p r i o r t o t h e p u r c h a s e o f th e p r o d u c t . S i m i l a r a tt e m p t s

w i t h r e g a r d t o m u s i c o c c u r r e d i n A u s t r a li a i n t h e m i d - 1 9 9 0 s , e s p e -

c i a l l y f o l l o w i n g t h e i m p a c t o f U . S . r a p m u s i c o n t h e A u s t r a l i a n

t e e n s u b c u l tu r e . I n a l l o f t h e s e i n s t a n c e s , t h e a d v o c a t e s o f s u c h

m e a s u r e s t a l k in te r m s o f p a r e n t a l e m p o w e r m e n t , n o t c e n s o r s h i p

n o r c o n t r o l o f th e m e d i a .

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T he Internet C yberporn and S e x u a l E x p l o i t a t i o n o f C h i l d r e n 4

M u c h o f t h e s u p p o r t f o r t h e C D A t h r o u g h o u t i t s s h o r t - li v e d e x -

i s te n c e w a s f r a m e d b y p a r e n t s ' r i g h t s g r o u p s i n te r m s o f p a r e n t a l

e m p o w e r m e n t . H o w e v e r , e v e n fa c e d w i t h a p r o l i f e r a t io n o f so f t-

w a r e p r o d u c t s t o b l o c k a c c e s s t o s e x u a l c o n t e n t o n t h e I n t e m e t

(and t he ab i l i t y o f ch i l d ren to by-p ass su ch [ABA , 2000] ) , c l a s s i f i -

ca t ion schem es for In t e rne t s i te s deve loped by i ndus t ry ( sexua l con-

t en t p rov ide rs an d o the rs) , and i nc reas ing ev idence t ha t i f yo u d on ' t

g o l o o k i n g f o r i t y o u w o n ' t f i n d it , t h e p a r e n t a l g r o u p s c o n t i n u e t o

c o m p l a in o f a l a c k o f e m p o w e r m e n t i n t h is a re a . O n e c o m m e n t a t o r

i n K e n t u c k y l a m e n t e d t h e i n a b i l it y t o z o n e t h e I n t e r n e t l i k e c o m -

m un i t i e s in o rde r t o p l ace se xua l con t en t s i t e s o f f - l im i t s fo r ch i l -

d r e n . Y et, A m e r i c a O n - L i n e a n d o t h e r s a r e d o i n g e x a c t l y th a t. T h e

r e s p o n s i b l e p r o v i d e r s o f a d u l t m a t e r i a l s a r e a l so e n g a g e d i n

se l f -po l i c ing e f for ts i n o rde r t o m a in t a in t he i r pos i t i on i n t he v i r t ua l

m a r k e t p l a c e . S o , w h y d o e s t h e c o n c e r n c o n t i n u e ? W e w o u l d a r g u e

t h a t i t i s p a r t l y d u e t o th e c o n f l u e n c e o f t w o o f t h e m o s t p o w e r f u l

s y m b o l s i n l a t e T w e n t i e t h C e n t u r y U . S . ( i n p a r t i c u l a r ) s o c i e t y :

C h i l d r e n a n d P o r n o g r a p h y .

T h e e g i n n i n g s o f t h e M o r a l P a n i c s

P o r n o g r a p h y h a s b e e n l in k e d t o e v e r y te c h n o l o g i c a l i n n o v a -

t i o n a f f e c t i n g v i s u a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n f r o m c a v e p a i n t i n g s t o

cybe rspace . S t even Marcu s (1964) recou nt s t he l egend t ha t t he sec -

o n d s e t o f b o o k s o f f t h e G u t t e n b e r g p r e s s w a s a c o l l e c t i o n o f p o r-

n o g r a p h y . A s p r i n ti n g b e c a m e m o r e e c o n o m i c a l , n o t o n l y

p o r n o g r a p h y b e c a m e o f c o n c e rn . D u n c a n C h a p p e l l ( 19 9 3 ) h a s

a n a l y z e d t h e A u s t r a l i a n c o n c e r n o v e r v i d e o g a m e c o n t e n t a s a c o n -

t i n u a t io n o f t h e c o n c e r n w i t h p e n n y d r e a d f u l n o v e l s ( p u l p f ic -

t i o n ) w h i c h b e c a m e e c o n o m i c a l l y fe a s i b l e i n t h e e a r l y p a r t o f t h e

2 0 t h c e n t u r y t h a n k s t o a d v a n c e s i n p r in t i n g a n d p a p e r p r o c e s s i n g .

T h e c o n t e n t o f m a n y o f th e s e n o v e l s w a s c o n s i d e r e d o b s c e n e a n d

d i s ta s te f u l t o m i d d l e - c la s s s o c i e t y i n N o r t h A m e r i c a a n d t h e U n i t e d

K i n g d o m . I t w o u l d s e e m t h a t e v e r y t e c h n o l o g i c a l i n n o v a t i o n l e a d s

t o a c o n c e r n w i t h s e x ( e s p e c i a l ly p o r n o g r a p h y ) a n d c h i l d r en .

D u r k i n a n d B r y a n t (1 9 9 5 ) h a v e e m p l o y e d O g b u r n ' s c o n c e p t o f

cu l tu re l ag t o d iscuss t he imp ac t o f technolog i ca l chang e on sexua l

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44 Sexuality u l t u r e

ac t i v i ty and a t ti tudes t ow ard sexua l behavior . The y a rgue t ha t each

t e ch n o l o g i c a l i n n o v a t io n p r o d u c e s n e w w a y s o f e x p e r i e n c i n g s e x u -

a li ty . A m on g the examp les t hey c i t e a re t he op por tun i t ie s fo r sexua l

l i a isons p re sen t ed b y t he mo bi l i t y o f t he au tom obi l e , t he p ro l i fe ra -

t io n o f s e x u a l l y e x p l ic i t v i d e o s f o l l o w i n g t h e m a s s m a r k e t i n g o f

v i d e o c a s s e t te p l a y e r s , a n d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f p h o n e s e x f o l -

l o w i n g d e v e l o p m e n t s i n t e le p h o n e s e r v i ce s . T h e y g o o n t o s p e cu -

l a te a b o u t t h e f u tu r e o f c y b e r s e x a s v i r t u a l r e a l i ty t e c h n o l o g y

i m p r o v e s w i t h c o m p u t e r d e s i g n c h a n g e s . T h r o u g h o u t t h e i r d i s cu s -

s i o n th e y n o t e t h e a n x i e t y ea c h i n n o v a t i o n p r o d u c e s i n s e g m e n t s o f

t h e p o p u l a t i o n r e g a r d i n g t h e d a n g e r p o s e d b y t h e n e w d e v e l o p -

m e n t s . H o w e v e r , th e y d o n o t a d d r e s s h o w t h e s e p e r c ei v e d d a n g e r s

a re expressed by t he pub l i c gene ra l l y and mo ra l en t repreneurs spe -

c i fi c al ly . F o r a m o v e f r o m t h e m o r e c o n c r e t e t o t h e s y m b o l i c , w e

t u rn t o t h e w o r k o f G a r y A l a n F i n e .

C y b e r p o r n a s M o r a l M y t h o l o g y f o r M i d d l e C l a ss P a r e n ts i n

t he C o m p u t e r A g e

F i n e ( 1 9 7 9 , 1 9 8 1) , h a s p o i n t e d o u t h o w m a n y u r b a n m y t h s f o -

c u s o n t h e i m p e r s o n a l i ty o f m o d e m l if e a n d r a p id t e c h n o l o g i c a l

c h a n g e . I n h i s a n a l y s is , s u c h m y t h s o f t e n h e l p u s t o f a c e t h e c o n t ra -

d i c ti o n s o f t h e m o d e m w o r l d , t h u s r e d u c i n g t h e s t r ai n w e f e e l f r o m

c o n f l i c ti n g s e ts o f v a l u e s a n d d e m a n d s . I n t w o e s s a y s , o n e d e a l i n g

w i t h K e n t u c k y F r i e d R a t a n d o n e o n C o k e l o r e ( a b ou t s o f t

d r i n k s ), F i n e a r g u e s t h a t w e a r e d e a l i n g w i t h a m o v e f r o m a m o r e

pe rsona l and hom e-cen t ered ex i s t ence to t he w or ld o f m ass p roduc -

t ion and impersona l se rvice. Bes t and H oriuch i (1985) h ave em ploy ed

these a rgument s t o ex amine t he r ise o f p r imar i l y suburban fo lk ta l e s

rega rd ing t he dange rs o f Ha l low een t r i ck or t r ea t i ng S imi l a r m yths

are not fa r f rom the surface in e i ther the U ni ted Sta tes or Au st ra lia .

Aus t ra li ans o f t en take the t op of f o f a p i e (me a t o r veg e t ab l e ) t o see

w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e re a r e m a t e r i a ls t h e r e t h a t s h o u l d n ' t b e . T h e r e

h a v e b e e n m a s s - p r o d u c e d m e a t p i e, c a n n e d t o m a t o , p i n e a p p l e a n d

o t h e r s u c h s c a re s i n A u s t r a l i a w i t h i n t h e p a s t d e c a d e .

F i n e a r g u e s t h a t u r b a n m y t h s h e l p u s t o e x p e c t s u c h a n o m a l i e s

i n t h e w o r l d o f i m p e r s o n a l l y p r o d u c e d f o o d a n d o t h e r p r o d u c ts

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T h e I n te r n e t C y b e r p o r n a n d Sexual Exploitation o f C h i ld r e n 5

f o r m a l l y a s s o c ia t ed w i t h h o m e l if e . A n o t h e r s u b s ta n t ia l c o m p o n e n t

o f h i s a r g u m e n t h a s t o d o w i t h t h e n o t i o n t h a t m a n y o f th e s e p r o d -

u c t s a re b e i n g p r o d u c e d b y t e c h n o l o g y t h a t i s b e y o n d t h e c o n t r o l

o f m o s t o f u s. T h i s i s w h e r e t h e a r g u m e n t i s e s p e c i a l l y g e r m a n e t o

t h e c y b e r p o r n m o r a l p a n ic . T h e r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t p a r e n t s a r e n o t a s

a c q u a i n t ed w i t h in f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y a s t h e i r c h i l d r e n a r e i s a l -

w a y s h i g h l i g h t e d . A l m o s t a l l o f t h e m e d i a i t e m s r e g a r d i n g

c y b e r p o r n e n d w i t h a d m o n i t i o n s t o p a r e n t s a b o u t m o n i t o r i n g

t h e i r c h i l d r e n ' s a c t i v i ti e s w i t h c o m p u t e r s m o r e c l o s e l y . I n s h o r t ,

t h e s e m o r a l p a n i c s a re f o r m i n g t h e b a s e o f a n e w u r b a n m y t h o l -

o g y a b o u t t h e d a n g e r s o f t h e i n c r e a s in g g e n e r a t i o n g a p r e g a r d -

i n g i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y a n d c o m p u t e rs b e t w e e n t o d a y ' s p ar e n ts

a n d t h e i r c h il d r e n . T h i s i s e s s e n t i a l ly th e s a m e m e s s a g e p a r e n t s

r e c e iv e d a b o u t t h e ir k n o w l e d g e o f r o c k a n d r o l l a n d s e x i n t h e m i d -

1 9 5 0 s ( a n d a g a i n w i t h P M R C ) , t h e n d r u g s ( th e m i d - 1 9 6 0 s ) . S a m e

m e s s a g e , d i f fe r e n t t o p ic s . B o t h o f t h e s e d e v e l o p m e n t s w e r e t i e d t o

p r o l i fe r a t in g a n d c h a n g i n g t e c h n o l o g y i n th e r e c o r d i n g a n d b r o a d -

cas t sec tors .

The c l ea r m essage i s t ha t pa ren t s need t o mon i to r t he i r ch i l d ren ' s

a c t iv i ti e s a n d r e a c t to t h e m w h e n t h e y s e e t h e i r c h i ld r e n h e a d i n g i n

an ob j ec t i onab l e d i rec ti on . Th e equ a l l y c l ea r s i gna l is tha t ch i l d ren

a r e g r o w i n g u p f a s t e r t h a n t h e y d i d i n o u r d a y a n d w e n e e d t o

s t ay one s t ep ahea d of t hem in o rde r t o con t ro l t hem. In a sense , t he

m e s s a g e r e m a i n s t h e s a m e , o n l y th e t e c h n o l o g y c h a n g e s . N e w t ec h -

n o l o g y b r i n g s u n c e r t a i n t y a n d d a n g e r i f p a r e n t s d o n o t p o l i c e it s

e m p l o y m e n t i n th e h o m e .

T h e u r b a n m y t h o l o g y s u r r o u n d i n g c y b e r p o r n i s a l so e s s e n t i a ll y

f o c u s e d o n a m i d d le - c la s s m o r a l p a n ic . A l t h o u g h N o r t h A m e r i c a

a n d A u s t r a li a m a y h a v e s o m e o f t h e h i g h e s t p r o p o r t i o n a l p a r ti c ip a -

t i on ra t e s i n In t e rne t usag e , i t is s t i ll p r im ar i l y a m iddl e -c l a s s p he -

n o m e n o n . T h i s is e sp e c i a l ly tr u e w h e n w e s p e a k o f h o m e - b a s e d

c o m p u t e r u s ag e . T h o s e o f u s w h o o w n o u r h o m e c o m p u t e rs k n o w

tha t the re i s subs t an t i a l inv es tm ent invo lved i n the ha rdw are , sof t -

w a r e , a n d c o n n e c t i o n f e e s t o a c c e s s t h e I n t e r n e t fo r m o s t p e o p l e .

T h e a v e r a g e w o r k i n g - c l a s s f a m i l y w i t h t w o o r m o r e c h i l d r e n i s n o t

l i k e l y t o b e i n v e s t in g t h o u s a n d s o f d o l la r s i n s u c h e q u i p m e n t - - y e t .

N o r a r e s u c h h o u s e h o l d s l i k e l y to t u r n a b l i n d e y e t o in c r e a s e d

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46 Sexuality

u l t u r e

t e l e p h o n e b i l ls a n d c r e d it c ar d c h a r g e s f o r d o w n l o a d e d i n f o r m a -

t io n f r o m a b u l l e ti n b o a r d i n s o m e o t h e r p a r t o f t h e w o r l d . I t is

m uch m ore l i ke ly t ha t middl e -c l a ss pa ren t s wo uld no t ques t i on such

c h a r g e s s h o w i n g u p o n t h e i r b il ls . A n d t h a t is t h e p o i n t o f t h e u r b a n

m y t h o l o g y - - s u c h p a r e n ts s h o u l d b e t a k in g a c l o s er n o t ic e o f t h e ir

chi ld ren 's ac t ivi ty ,

L i k e m u c h h i s to r i c a ll y r e c e n t m y t h o l o g y , th e u r b a n m y t h o l o g y

t h a t i s e m e r g i n g f r o m t h e m o r a l p a n i c s u r r o u n d i n g c y b e r p o r n i s

a imed at r e in forc ing good pa ren t i ng i n t he p re sen t t ime . Cy be rp om

r e p r e se n t s t h e n e w e s t d a n g e r in a l o n g l in e o f d a n g e r s t o t h e i n n o -

c e n c e o f c h i l d h o o d . I t is a l s o t h e l a t e s t in a l o n g l i n e o f c h a l -

l e n g e s t o p a r e n t a l a u t h o r i t y a n d n o t i o n s o f w h a t i t i s t o b e a

g o o d p a r e n t. I n a t i m e w h e n m a n y p a r e n t s a re f in d i n g it d i f f i-

c u l t t o s p e n d a n y t i m e w i t h t h e i r c h i l d r e n , l e t a l o n e q u a l i t y

t im e , c y b e r p o r n i s a m o r al p r ic k to t h e c o n s c i e n c e o f t h o s e w h o

w o u l d b e g o o d p a r e n ts .

m p l ic a t io n s f o r S o c ia l P r o b l e m s R e s e a r c h a n d T h e o r y

At o ne l eve l , t h is a r t ic l e is s im ply an ex p lora t i on of t he app l i ca -

t io n o f t e m p l a t e s r e g a r d i n g th e f r a m i n g o f s o c i al p r o b l e m s ( e .g .,

Bes t , 1991; Jenness & Bro ad , 1997) . Howev er , we be l i eve t ha t i t

a l so ra i se s som e fur the r ques t i ons t o be i nv es t i ga t ed by t hose i n t e r-

e s t e d i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f s o c i a l p r o b l e m s a n d t h e i r a t t e n d a n t

s o lu t io n s . F o r e x a m p l e , t h e f r a m i n g q u e s t i o n b e c o m e s i n t e r e s ti n g

w h e n w h a t a r e e s s e n t i a l ly s o l it a r y a c t iv i t ie s c a r d e d o n i n t h e p r i -

vacy of one ' s ho m e or o f f i ce a re a l leged t o be soc i a l p rob l ems . In a

sense, t h is is a s imi l a r com pon ent o f t he a rgum ent s sur round ing t he

produ c t ion and d i s t r ibu t i on of sex ua l l y exp l i c i t v ideo t ap e ca sse t t e s

(Pott er , 1996) .Ye t, t he focus t o da t e has p r im ar i l y been on ch i l d ren

as t he v i c t im s of sexu a l l y exp l i c i t ( i n t he U ni t ed S ta t e s ) and v io-

l en t ( in Au s t ra l ia ) co n t en t v i a on - l i ne se rv i ces .

S i m i l a r to t h e p r o b l e m o f s e x u a l l y e x p l i c i t v i d e o t a p e s , t h e r e i s

a ls o t h e i s s u e o f w i d e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f t h e p r o d u c t. U n l i k e v i d e o -

t ap e s , h o w e v e r , th e c o n t e n t d o e s n o t h a v e to b e p h y s i c a l l y p r e s e n t

i n th e h o m e o f th e c o n s u m e r i n o r d e r to b e c o n s u m e d . I n f ac t, m u c h

o f th e 1 99 3 C o n f e r e n c e o n T e c h n o l o g y a n d C e n s o r s h i p I s s u e s h e l d

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Th e Internet Cyberporn and Sexual Exploi tat ion of Chi ldren 47

i n B r i s b a n e f o c u s e d o n t h e c r o s s - b o r d e r n a t u r e o f t h e In t e r n e t a n d

t h e i s su e s s u r r o u n d i n g c o n t r o l o f s u c h b o r d e r l e s s e n v i r o n m e n t s .

I t o f t e n a p p e a rs t h at t h e U . S . - b a s e d d e b a t e a r o u n d I n t e rn e t c o n t e n t

i g n o r e s t h e i n t e r e s ts o f o t h e r c o u n t r i e s ( s u c h a s A u s t r a li a a n d C a n a d a ) ,

w h o s e l a w s a n d m o r e s m a y n o t m i r r o r e x a c t ly t h o s e o f t h e U .S . F u r -

t he r , w h e n t h o s e s e e k i n g t o c o n t r o l I n te r n e t c o n t e n t d e c r y t h e e s t i-

m a t e d 4 0 p e r c e n t o f o b j ec t io n a b le m a t e r i a l c o m i n g f r o m o u t s id e

t h e U . S . b o r d e r s , t h e y o f t e n f o r g e t t h a t th e 6 0 p e r c e n t p r o d u c e d i n

t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s l o o k s q u i t e la r g e t o s m a l l e r c o u n t r ie s .

T h e I n t e r n e t d o e s p r o v i d e u s w i t h th e f i r s t tr u ly g l o b a l m e d i u m

w i t h r e l a ti v e l y l it tl e s ta t e c o n t r o l a t i ts i n c e p t i o n . H o w r e g u l a t i o n o f

c o n t e n t e v o l v e s , e i t h e r t h r o u g h g o v e r n m e n t a l a c t i o n o r c o r p o r a t e

c o n t r o l , w i l l b e o f i n t e n s e i n t e re s t . T h i s i n t e re s t w i l l f o c u s n o t o n l y

o n t h e c o n t e n t i ts e lf , b u t o n t h e s o r t o f c u l tu r a l i m p e r i a l i s m w h i c h

r e s u l ts , a c u l t u r a l i m p e r i a l i s m t h a t r e a c h e s t o t h e v e r y h e a r t o f t h e

s o c i a l i z a t i o n p r o c e s s - - h o w t o p a r e n t p r op e r ly .

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