timate sources of information. Threats to internet freedom can't take precedence over threats to children. Imperfect though our efforts may be, we should do whatever is in our power.

Depending on how effectively it is implemented, this program will hopefully make it more difficult for foreign based child pornographers. Without a growth market fewer children are liable to be victimized.

More needs to be done also on the definition of child porn. A lot of it gets passed off as "artistic rendering", and this makes it harder to prosecute than images that are obviously sexual in nature.

Laws should be tightened to target pornographers who exploit minors online, whether or no

The internet has opened up a world of information and a whole new realm of communication. It also facilitates the darker side of the human psyche, and has provided a venue for people who exploit children for gratification and monetary gain.

It's hard to estimate how large the market is for child porn. The users aren't an easily identifiable group, coming as they do from all classes and backgrounds.

The Toronto Star reported this week on a popular priest known for his outreach work on behalf of the poor who was arrested after images of children were found on his computer. A former California University dean was nabbed with 15,000 child porn images.

It gets even more sinister. There are those who are willing to pay to see live streaming of videos that show assaults on children. Recently law enforcement broke up a ring and arrested 27 in Canada, the US, Britain and Australia.

Can it get worse than that? The sickening truth is that it can.

A human monster by name Dmitri Vladimirovich Kuznetsov was arrested in Russia. The charge? Luring children, many of them orphans, in order to torture and murder them on video. During the two years he was actively engaged in producing videos, Kuznetzov lured some 100 kids to his apartment. Reports are not clear on how many of these children were killed, because he used some of them to recruit others.

What adds to the revulsion is the fact that the police obtained evidence against some 500 people in Europe who were willing and eager customers. Among the suspects were academics, businessmen and public employees, many of them with children of their own. The police intercepted 3,000 of Kuznetzov's videos en route to destinations in Europe.

Given the pathological nature of a lot of child pornography and the children it has victimized around the world, I was frankly surprised that many in the internet community in Canada balked at the recent announcement by Canadian internet service providers that detailed a plan to work together on a child porn blocking plan. I am as leery of censorship as the next person, but on this issue there surely has to be an exception. It is a risk worth taking even though I'm dubious about how effective it will be in the long run, given that smart operators can always find loopholes. These systems in the past have proved to be quite a few degrees less than perfect.

In any case Rogers, Shaw, Videotron, Telus, Bell and MTS Allstream have made an arrangement with Cybertip.ca to voluntarily filter out child porn websites in an operation named Cleanfeed Canada.

Doubtless there will be challenges in implementing the program and safeguards do need to be demanded in order to ensure that blocking doesn't extend to legal porn and other legitimate sources of information. Threats to internet freedom can't take precedence over threats to children. Imperfect though our efforts may be, we should do whatever is in our power.

Depending on how effectively it is implemented, this program will hopefully make it more difficult for foreign based child pornographers. Without a growth market fewer children are liable to be victimized.

More needs to be done also on the definition of child porn. A lot of it gets passed off as "artistic rendering", and this makes it harder to prosecute than images that are obviously sexual in nature.

Laws should be tightened to target pornographers who exploit minors online, whether or not

ster. There are those who are willing to pay to see live streaming of videos that show assaults on children. Recently law enforcement broke up a ring and arrested 27 in Canada, the US, Britain and Australia.

Can it get worse than that? The sickening truth is that it can.

A human monster by name Dmitri Vladimirovich Kuznetsov was arrested in Russia. The charge? Luring children, many of them orphans, in order to torture and murder them on video. During the two years he was actively engaged in producing videos, Kuznetzov lured some 100 kids to his apartment. Reports are not clear on how many of these children were killed, because he used some of them to recruit others.

What adds to the revulsion is the fact that the police obtained evidence against some 500 people in Europe who were willing and eager customers. Among the suspects were academics, businessmen and public employees, many of them with children of their own. The police intercepted 3,000 of Kuznetzov's videos en route to destinations in Europe.

Given the pathological nature of a lot of child pornography and the children it has victimized around the world, I was frankly surprised that many in the internet community in Canada balked at the recent announcement by Canadian internet service providers that detailed a plan to work together on a child porn blocking plan. I am as leery of censorship as the next person, but on this issue there surely has to be an exception. It is a risk worth taking even though I'm dubious about how effective it will be in the long run, given that smart operators can always find loopholes. These systems in the past have proved to be quite a few degrees less than perfect.

In any case Rogers, Shaw, Videotron, Telus, Bell and MTS Allstream have made an arrangement with Cybertip.ca to voluntarily filter out child porn websites in an operation named Cleanfeed Canada.

Doubtless there will be challenges in implementing the program and safeguards do need to be demanded in order to ensure that blocking doesn't extend to legal porn and other legitimate sources of information. Threats to internet freedom can't take precedence over threats to children. Imperfect though our efforts may be, we should do whatever is in our power.

Depending on how effectively it is implemented, this program will hopefully make it more difficult for foreign based child pornographers. Without a growth market fewer children are liable to be victimized.

More needs to be done also on the definition of child porn. A lot of it gets passed off as "artistic rendering", and this makes it harder to prosecute than images that are obviously sexual in nature.

Laws should be tightened to target pornographers who exploit minors online, whether or no

t adds to the revulsion is the fact that the police obtained evidence against some 500 people in Europe who were willing and eager customers. Among the suspects were academics, businessmen and public employees, many of them with children of their own. The police intercepted 3,000 of Kuznetzov's videos en route to destinations in Europe.

Given the pathological nature of a lot of child pornography and the children it has victimized around the world, I was frankly surprised that many in the internet community in Canada balked at the recent announcement by Canadian internet service providers that detailed a plan to work together on a child porn blocking plan. I am as leery of censorship as the next person, but on this issue there surely has to be an exception. It is a risk worth taking even though I'm dubious about how effective it will be in the long run, given that smart operators can always find loopholes. These systems in the past have proved to be quite a few degrees less than perfect.

In any case Rogers, Shaw, Videotron, Telus, Bell and MTS Allstream have made an arrangement with Cybertip.ca to voluntarily filter out child porn websites in an operation named Cleanfeed Canada.

Doubtless there will be challenges in implementing the program and safeguards do need to be demanded in order to ensure that blocking doesn't extend to legal porn and other legitimate sources of information. Threats to internet freedom can't take precedence over threats to children. Imperfect though our efforts may be, we should do whatever is in our power.

Depending on how effectively it is implemented, this program will hopefully make it more difficult for foreign based child pornographers. Without a growth market fewer children are liable to be victimized.

More needs to be done also on the definition of child porn. A lot of it gets passed off as "artistic rendering", and this makes it harder to prosecute than images that are obviously sexual in nature.

Laws should be tightened to target pornographers who exploit minors online, whether or no

p as the next person, but on this issue there surely has to be an exception. It is a risk worth taking even though I'm dubious about how effective it will be in the long run, given that smart operators can always find loopholes. These systems in the past have proved to be quite a few degrees less than perfect.

In any case Rogers, Shaw, Videotron, Telus, Bell and MTS Allstream have made an arrangement with Cybertip.ca to voluntarily filter out child porn websites in an operation named Cleanfeed Canada.

Doubtless there will be challenges in implementing the program and safeguards do need to be demanded in order to ensure that blocking doesn't extend to legal porn and other legitimate sources of information. Threats to internet freedom can't take precedence over threats to children. Imperfect though our efforts may be, we should do whatever is in our power.

Depending on how effectively it is implemented, this program will hopefully make it more difficult for foreign based child pornographers. Without a growth market fewer children are liable to be victimized.

More needs to be done also on the definition of child porn. A lot of it gets passed off as "artistic rendering", and this makes it harder to prosecute than images that are obviously sexual in nature.

Laws should be tightened to target pornographers who exploit minors online, whether or no

timate sources of information. Threats to internet freedom can't take precedence over threats to children. Imperfect though our efforts may be, we should do whatever is in our power.

Depending on how effectively it is implemented, this program will hopefully make it more difficult for foreign based child pornographers. Without a growth market fewer children are liable to be victimized.

More needs to be done also on the definition of child porn. A lot of it gets passed off as "artistic rendering", and this makes it harder to prosecute than images that are obviously sexual in nature.

Laws should be tightened to target pornographers who exploit minors online, whether or not the rendering is "artistic". Young children are unable to give their assent and those who use innocent images in an implicitly pornographic fashion are objectifying kids as sexual commodities. This is wrong by any civilized standard because it robs the child of dignity and in later life could become a profound source of personal hurt.

The work to root out child porn is made difficult by popular misconceptions. There have been a number of stories about complaints to police concerning suspected child porn, that turned out to be legal teen porn featuring young looking models. It is legal in the States and Canada for porn sites to feature models in the 18 to 20 range.

To ensure that a site is legal visitors should make a point of checking for legal verification which can usually be found at the bottom of the main page. It shows the "18 U.S.C. Section 2257 Compliance Notice" which indicates the site keeps up-to-date records that demonstrate legal age requirements.

In the case of fine art photographers along the lines of Jock Sturges who has been attacked by the moral majority crew, it's a trickier situation. Some of these photographers specialize in nudes - in some instances they use subjects who are members of nudist colonies. Entire families are sometimes involved in the shoots and parental supervision is part of the deal. There should be a distinct category for photographers who are serious artists like Sturges, often with international reputations and awards to their name.

The scourge of child porn is damaging the legitimate end of the adult industry. The industry is well aware of this danger and there is now a site named Adult Sites Against Child Pornography that helps to raise awareness and aids with law enforcement efforts.