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The programs may seem innocent enough to kids downloading music, but it is the new channels' apparent innocence that has drawn the attention of porn distributors. According to the RIAA, 41 percent of people downloading files through P2P networks are between the ages of 12 and 18, and Kazaa, the most popular P2P file-sharing program, typically has four million simultaneous users. A study conducted in March of 2003 by the House Committee on Government Reform and the General Accounting Office found that: Pornography is widely available and accessible on P2P networks; children using P2P networks can easily be exposed to pornography inadvertently; and the filters available to parents to protect their children have severe limitations. The GAO used 12 keywords associated with porn to search Kazaa; 76 percent of the returned titles and file names were pornographic, with 42 percent representing child pornography. The term "porn" was entered, yielding 25,000 pornographic-titled files and proving the accessibility of pornography via P2P. Children can stumble across pornographic images much more easily than imagined. The GAO used the popular child search terms — "Britney," a pop singer; "Olsen twins," teenage actresses; and "Pokemon," a popular cartoon character. Over half the results contained pornographic images. According to a study conducted by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in 2001, 70 percent of online youth between the ages of 15-17 say they have stumbled across porn online, and of those exposed to such content, 49 percent were upset by the experience. The study also found that young people agree: "[Stumbling upon pornography] is upsetting to many young people — especially young girls — and most think it is a serious problem." Parental-control software does not work on the P2P file-sharing programs. None of the parental-control programs tested by the GAO (including the common NetNanny) managed to block all pornographic images. Parental-control settings within the P2P networks can easily be disabled by children. Penny Nance, president of the Kids First Coalition, says she sees the lack of filter ability for parents as a major concern and believes that the Federal Trade Commission should force P2P networks to install effective parental controls. Since tracking child-pornography reports on P2P networks in 2001, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found that a fourfold increase of reports occurred within a year. The NCMEC also noted that pedophiles often show children images of other children performing sexual acts, to convince them such behavior is acceptable. These P2P networks provide an open field for pedophiles to exchange child-porn images and lure in young children. According to Nance, pedophiles enter words such as "Britney" and "Pokeman" to find children downloading these terms. Then, through P2P instant messenger and by acting like another child, they entice kids to provide them with information such as their name, age, and where they go after school. "Pedophiles are able to stalk children through P2P networks. [P2P networks] are the new virtual playground for pedophilia," Nance says. The threat of pedophilia is a legitimate cause for concern. This May, the American Psychiatric Association debated whether or not pedophilia — having sex with a child — constituted a mental disorder. Some experts saw the debate as an early step in a campaign to normalize child molestation. The greatest challenges in protecting children from Internet pornography require both active enforcement of the law by the government and parental awareness of online dangers. As Jan LaRue, legal expert for Concerned Women for America, has stated: "The failure of the Department of Justice to vigorously and consistently enforce the federal obscenity laws is the major problem. The ignorance of parents is [another] big factor. Too many allow kids unrestricted Internet access. Many parents fail to educate themselves and their kids about why porn is harmful." If parents fail to recognize the tactics and consequences of pornography on all children, the porn addicts and pedophiles of the cultural sex war will devour another generation — child by child. — Kathryn Hooks, a writer for the Beverly LaHaye Institute, the research arm of Concerned Women for America, is a 2003 graduate of Mississippi State University, where she was a "Big Dawg," Miss MSU, and graduated with highest honors. |
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t's happening right under parents' noses, yet few know that their teens
and young children are being targeted in a new battle-tactic of the pornography
industry. Peer-to-peer file-sharing programs represent a widely popular
new trend among today's youth.
