This leads ASACP to conclude that concerned citizens are not reading the organization’s frequently asked questions. “It is very important to consult the FAQ page before reporting a suspect site, especially if it is the first report you have made to ASACP. The answers to most common questions can be found there, as well as important information regarding how and where to report various types of suspected Internet child pornography,” said ASACP’s Compliance Manager and Site Reviewer, Tim Henning.
ASACP’s FAQ page is found on the organization’s website at Asacp. In July alone, ASACP received 5,800 reports of online child porn.
According to the FAQs, reports must reference the offender’s URL. It is essential that concerned citizens, no matter how well intentioned, do not transmit any child porn online. Even if this is simply intended to provide evidence, doing so is strictly illegal.
ASACP also notes: “Child nudity does not always equal child pornography. If a child is nude, partially nude or fully clothed is not the determining factor; what the child is doing and/or having done to him/her is. Only report if the image is lewd, sexual in nature or the picture focuses on the genitals.”
The anti-child porn organization only provides acknowledgement of and feedback to information that is electronically submitted via ASACP’s official form. Submissions must also include a valid email address. However, hotmail addresses are not responded to because of a high bounceback rate.
The organization’s Executive Director, Joan Irvine, added: “ASACP receives thousands of emails each month – it’s impossible for us to answer all of them.”
The FAQs also include ASACP’s guarantee of confidentiality to information providers. Meanwhile, Dark Lady is reviewing the FAQ page in order to make it more user friendly.
ASACP is second only to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in terms of international hotlines that receive child porn reports. Unlike ASACP, the NCMEC receives substantial government funding. More than 5,700 sites proudly display the ASACP logo.
Irvine also told XBiz: “We understand that it is very upsetting to view such images, that one wants to immediately do something about it, and that it is frustrating not to be able to do so. The ASACP staff has dealt with viewing these horrendous images on a daily basis since 1996.”