The ISPA runs Hotline.ie, a service that lets surfers call in to report sites that appear to contain child pornography, and said complaints from computer users about sexual material involving children has shot up dramatically during the last 30 months, from 154 per month in December 2003 to 195 per month for December 2005.
In particular, users complained of accidentally stumbling upon child porn in the course of normal computer surfing, pointing to the easy availability and prevalence of illegal material.
About 12 percent of the complaints were general in nature, but the remaining 88 percent cited specific URLs.
While the ISPA study covers mostly Irish users, ASACP Executive Director Joan Irvine said the problem is global in nature.
“Many of ASACP’s findings are similar,” Irvine said. “In the last few months, we have noticed a decrease in the number of reports with an increase percentage being actually child pornography. We’ve also seen an increase in the severity of the sexual child abuse — younger children, more rape and torture. It is horrific.”
Irvine said she is familiar with and respects the work of Hotline.ie and ISPA, adding that the organization understands the difference between child pornography and adult entertainment.
However, while those in the industry know the difference, the shocking nature of online child porn does have a chilling effect on computer use — as well as serious consequences for legitimate adult websites.
“People are afraid to open their email [because they think] it may contain child pornography,” Irvine said. “Others are concerned about viewing adult content for the same reason.”
Irvine added that the ASACP offers validation buttons to its member adult sites to show surfers that the site is free of child pornography.