E/CN.15/2014/CRP.1 Increased profits for criminal enterprises Advances in ICTs have enabled criminal enterprises that sexually abuse and exploit children to lower operating costs and increase profits. Prior to the widespread availability and use of ICTs, producers of child sexual abuse material had to employ expensive filming and copying equipment, and ship videotapes or CD-ROM copies for distribution and to produce advertising material accordingly. Due to the public nature of such advertisements, offenders used cryptic language and terms so as not to alert law enforcement authorities, which often served to restrict the distribution and profit of such material. In the current technological context, ICTs markedly reduce the costs and efforts at all stages of the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material. While digital equipment creates a comparatively cheap and easily accessible means of producing and widely distributing child sexual abuse material through the Internet, commercial spam campaigns reduce the challenges and costs related to advertising, enabling child abuse and exploitation networks to quickly expand the scope and scale of their activities. Once directly connected to customers and consumers, providers can continuously advertise additional illicit materials in open and explicit language and keep in touch freely, thus enabling them to generate greater revenue from their activities. The creation of websites has also become significantly easier in recent years, such that providers of child sexual abuse material no longer have to rely on and hire HTML-programmers and can instead establish a site themselves, either on the public web or, more commonly, on the Tor or dark web. With even less effort and expense, and some basic precautions, child sexual abuse material providers can employ photo-sharing, banner advertising, and social networking applications to host graphic child sexual abuse content. The cost-saving effects of ICTs also facilitate child commercial sex trafficking operations. For instance, traffickers are able to recruit, advertise, organize, and communicate primarily, or even exclusively, via mobile phone or devices such as tablets, effectively streamlining their activities and expanding their networks. At the same time, operators of illicit businesses are frequently able to charge traveling offenders more money for the service of facilitating encounters at almost any time, and on short notice – a “service” which is facilitated by ICTs.91 Reducing offenders’ risk of detection The use of ICTs in the sexual abuse and exploitation of children has also reduced the risk of detection. The use of mobile phones and devices, e-mail and messaging applications can enable perpetrators to hide their identities and obfuscate their activities. Potential offenders can utilize disposable phones or pre-paid SIM cards that, in some countries, do not require any form of registration, to carry out any form of child abuse and exploitation. E-mail accounts may also be registered using false identities, multiple proxies, and public wireless hotspots, making it extremely challenging to link an account-registration with a particular individual. Additionally, many Internet cafés offer reasonable anonymity, as they do not require identification to log on to computers, do not use monitoring systems of any kind, and are unable to enforce codes of conduct.92 ICTs can also expand the territorial range and reach of child sexual abuse material distribution, as such material may be both recorded and distributed solely using mobile telephones or devices. Similarly, by using ICTs, cyber-stalkers, harassers and bullies can abuse their victims with less effort and lower risk of detection.93 Child sex tourists can make use of cloud computing to store images or videos of their encounters, avoiding the risks associated with physically transporting child sexual abuse material through airports and other checkpoints. Moreover, mobile telephone technology __________________ 91 92 93 18 Hughes, D., 2002. The Use of New Communications and Information Technologies for Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children. Hastings Women’s Law Journal 13:129-148; Trinidad, A.C. 2005. Child Pornography in the Philippines. UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies/UNICEF Manila. Pp. 31-37. U.S. Department of Justice, 2010. The National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Inerdiction. A Report to Congress, Pp. 25-26; see also Armstrong H. L., Forde, P.J., 2003. Internet anonymity practices in computer crime. Information Management & Computer Security 11:209-215. U.S. Department of Justice, 2010. Pp. 25-26; see also CEOP, 2009. Strategic Assessment 2008-2009. Available at: http://ceop.police.uk/Documents/strategic_overview_2008-09.pdf V.14-03040