Building a Europe for and with children
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"We are not doing enough to hunt down child predators in cyberspace." Statement by Terry Davis Secretary General of the Council of Europe |
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7 February 2007, Strasbourg: The Austrian police should be congratulated on having uncovered yet another child pornography network operating on the Internet, involving more than two thousand people in 77 countries. Breakthroughs like this are important, but they are too few and far apart. The fact is that our governments are not doing enough to hunt down child predators in cyberspace. Only 18 of the 46 Council of Europe member states have ratified the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention, which is a unique international legal instrument dealing specifically with crime committed through the Internet. The fact is that while criminals have been quick to exploit the opportunities offered by the Internet, the authorities – governments, legislators and police – have been left standing. In cyberspace there are no borders, and our governments must either improve international co-operation, or accept that they will always be one step behind criminals. The Cybercrime Convention effectively fills many of the gaps and legal loopholes. It is also open to non-European countries, and has so far been signed by Canada, Japan, South Africa and ratified by the United States of America. |