ASACP has been informed by the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce (ICAC) that child protection vigilantes are threatening people on message boards saying that the content they are posting is illegal.
It is uncertain whether the content these people are referring to is actual child pornography (CP) or adult content that certain people may find objectionable, but these vigilantes are claiming to be ASACP employees and are threatening people with legal action.
"Anyone who comes across suspect child pornography should report it immediately to ASACP or to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children," ASACP Director of Compliance and Technology Tim Henning said. "Never directly confront anyone who you believe is distributing CP."
According to Henning, ASACP does not directly search for CP, have employees monitoring or patrolling communities or messages boards, contact or confront anyone who may be a suspected of distributing CP, or investigate individuals or suspected pedophiles. ASACP never sends unsolicited email or instant messages, regarding CP or any other subject.
Founded in 1996, the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating child pornography from the Internet and preventing children from viewing age-inappropriate material online via the Restricted to Adults (RTA) website label. ASACP operates a CP reporting hotline and forwards on suspected CP websites to appropriate contacts in law enforcement.
"It's important to know that ASACP would never contact any member of the general public directly regarding suspect CP," Henning added.