E/CN.15/2014/CRP.1 In one recent case example, a perpetrator from an EU Member State contacted providers of child sexual abuse material in an Asian country. Using chat services and a webcam, the perpetrator issued instructions regarding the particular type of abuse he wanted to watch, paying as little as USD 25- 30 for each 30 minute session of abuse. During the investigation of the case, it was discovered that many of the women from the particular village where the abuse took place were involved in the crimes.116 The demand for new material appears to be reflected in the range of prices observed. While individual video clips can cost as little as USD 10 each, and subscriptions as little as USD 50 for 3 months, one video file of new material on demand can cost as much as 1,200 USD.117 User-generated content and self-generated content, including “sexting” User-generated content is content that is self-created and self-published online by Internet users. Common forms of user-generated content include blogs, videos, podcasts, comments on articles, forum commentaries, social media postings, and contributions to wiki sites. In the context of child abuse and exploitation, self-generated content – a subset of user-generated content – comprises images and videos that are produced by and feature children, especially teens. 118 “Sexting” is a form of self-generated sexually explicit content119, which is generally defined as the “exchange of sexual messages or images”120 that involves “the creating, sharing and forwarding of sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images” through mobile phones and/or the internet.121 Such material typically involves minors and can be conceived of as “self-produced child pornography”122. Quantitative research on sexting has found rates of use as wide as 15 per cent to 40 per cent among young people.123 Motivations for sexting cover a broad spectrum ranging from naive expressions of newfound sexuality to coercion.124 According to one study, sexting-messages may have an especially coercive impact resembling harassment and bullying or resulting in physical violence.125 Mass availability of ICTs has increased the production of and loss of control over such self-generated content. Recipients of such material may distribute content further without the original producers’ permission or the material may be obtained and distributed from children’s hacked accounts, computers or other devices. The problem of free proliferation of user- or self-generated sexual content is increasingly recognized as widespread, with research findings suggesting that up to 88 per cent of self-generated, sexually explicit online content has been taken from its original location and uploaded elsewhere on the internet without the original generator’s permission.126 When content that meets the legal standard for child pornography is generated by minors without any adult involvement, coercion, or grooming, and is shared and transmitted solely between minors, child pornography possession and production offences may still technically be applicable, depending upon national ages of criminal responsibility. At the extreme, some content may even constitute evidence of statutory rape, depending upon the age of minors involved. __________________ 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 22 EUROPOL, European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), 2013. Ibid., 2013. Quayle, E., et al. In Ainsaar, M., Lööf, L. (eds.). P. 14. A Thin Line, 2009. 2009 AP-MTV Digital Abuse Study. Executive Summary Available at http://www.athinline.org/MTVAP_Digital_Abuse_Study_.pdf. Ringrose, J., Gill, R., Livingstone, S., Harvey, L., 2012. A Qualitative Study of Children, Young People and ‘Sexting’. A Study Prepared for the NSPCC. P. 6. Available at http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/sexualabuse/sextingresearch-report_wdf89269.pdf. Lenhart, A., 2009. Teens and Sexting: How and why minor teens are sending sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images via text messaging. Pew Research Centre Report. Available at http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/teens-and-sexting.pdf. See Leary, M., 2007. Self-Produced Child Pornography: The Appropriate Societal Response to Juvenile Self-Sexual Exploitation Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law 15:1-50; Leary, M. 2010. Sexting or Self-Produced Child Pornography? The Dialogue Continues – Structured Prosecutorial Discretion within a Multidisciplinary Response. Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law 17:486-566. Some of the variation is due to variations in definitions (see Ringrose, J., Gill, R., Livingstone, S., Harvey, L., 2012. P. 6.) Leary, M., 2007. A Thin Line, 2009. IWF, 2012. Young people are warned they may lose control over their images and videos once they are uploaded online. Available at https://www.iwf.org.uk/about-iwf/news/post/334-young-people-are-warned-they-may-lose-control-over-theirimages-and-videos-once-they-are-uploaded-online. V.14-03040