Child Pornography on the Internet

Introduction A trans-border medium such as the Internet that has no regard for frontiers and national states will inevitably result in conflicting opinions in public morality and ethics. Sexual deviation and variation in one country may not be tolerated in another country. For example, Italy is less tolerant to homosexuality, in contrast to Sweden that has a liberal view and even allows homosexual couples to marry (or enjoy the legal equivalent to marriage). The same line of reasoning can apply to pornography and the law surrounding child pornography. One might assume that there would be some international consensus between national states to protect children from the abuse of being the subject of pornography. However, it is apparent that this is not always the case and public moral standards are extremely diverse all over the world. As a result, British authorities are trying to filter the vast amounts of pornography on the Internet as required by UK law, but, are unable to curve its lawful production in foreign states where it is legal. An example can be taken from Japan, which is the only industrialized country with a lawful child pornography industry that can legally produce, sell and distribute both hard and softcore images of children. This article will discuss the following: