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<p>The COVID-19 global pandemic altered the social lives of people around the globe and centred our activities around the internet and new technologies even more than before. As countries around the world responded with lockdowns and social restrictions in order to prevent spreading the virus, concerns about the effects of those measures on child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) volumes on the internet and CSAM related offending online arose. While it is impossible to measure the entire volume of CSAM available online and CSAM related offending, there are some indicators that can be used to assess the scale of online CSAM and whether there was an upward or downward trend in CSAM related activity online and reporting over the pandemic time. Such indicators include the number of reports to hotlines combating CSAM, the number of criminal investigations and cases, and the measurements of the offenders’ online activity monitored by law enforcement and other entities. The aim of this paper is to analyse the data available in these areas and see how they picture the CSAM online problem during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
</abstract>

The COVID-19 global pandemic altered the social lives of people around the globe and centred our activities around the internet and new technologies even more than before. As countries around the world responded with lockdowns and social restrictions in order to prevent spreading the virus, concerns about the effects of those measures on child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) volumes on the internet and CSAM related offending online arose. While it is impossible to measure the entire volume of CSAM available online and CSAM related offending, there are some indicators that can be used to assess the scale of online CSAM and whether there was an upward or downward trend in CSAM related activity online and reporting over the pandemic time. Such indicators include the number of reports to hotlines combating CSAM, the number of criminal investigations and cases, and the measurements of the offenders’ online activity monitored by law enforcement and other entities. The aim of this paper is to analyse the data available in these areas and see how they picture the CSAM online problem during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Unclear Picture of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) Online Volumes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Białostockie Studia Prawnicze

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The COVID-19 global pandemic altered the social lives of people around the globe and centred our activities around the internet and new technologies even more...

The Unclear Picture of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) Online Volumes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Data publikacji: 30 gru 2021

Zakres stron: 109 - 125

Otrzymano: 31 lip 2021

Przyjęty: 30 paź 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15290/bsp.2021.26.06.07

Słowa kluczowe
child exploitation material, child online victimization, child pornography, cybercrime, online sexual offences

© 2020 Marta Dąbrowska, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Unclear Picture of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) Online Volumes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Data publikacji: 30 gru 2021

Zakres stron: 109 - 125

Otrzymano: 31 lip 2021

Przyjęty: 30 paź 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15290/bsp.2021.26.06.07

Słowa kluczowechild exploitation material, child online victimization, child pornography, cybercrime, online sexual offences

© 2020 Marta Dąbrowska, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Słowa kluczowe
child exploitation material, child online victimization, child pornography, cybercrime, online sexual offences