[LINK] child porn laws -- more silliness

[Jan Whitaker]

Tough new child porn rules (5 February 2010)
  http://www.theage.com.au/national/tough-new-child-porn-rules-20100204-ng7d.html
  http://snipurl.com/u9zqg
JONATHAN PEARLMAN
February 5, 2010

POLICE will be able to destroy computers carrying suspected child 
pornography even where the material is highly encrypted and 
impossible to access, under a tightening of federal sex offence laws.

But police are also understood to be pressing the government for 
greater powers against suspects who refuse to reveal passwords.

At present, offenders who refuse to reveal passwords can be jailed 
for up to six months but are able to avoid potentially longer 
sentences for incriminating material.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus said yesterday the 
new laws would give the police the ability to destroy computers - not 
just files - to ensure that potentially criminal material is not 
returned to offenders.

''When we seize computer hard drives we are talking about enormous 
volumes of data that is stored,'' he said. [All porn? Probably not. 
What if it belongs to a company that is employing the person? Will 
they have the right to destory that?]

''In many instances, people use encryption devices to make it very 
difficult for us to ascertain exactly what is in a particular file in 
a particular computer. [It's called security. Duh. And anything could 
be encrypted. Too bad that the cops aren't going to be shown 
corporate secrets. Or are they?]

''This will allow us to seize that encrypted computer device and have 
it destroyed, rather than the law, as it currently sits, where 
ultimately this would be returned to the owner.''

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor announced a range of measures 
to tighten federal sex abuse laws, including a crackdown on child sex 
tourism and on the use of postal services to buy and distribute 
illegal pornography.

The changes include new offences targeting commercial child sex tour 
operators and people suspected of planning overseas child sex trips.

''These laws will help make our children safer,'' Mr O'Connor said. 
''The internet is endlessly transforming. We need laws to keep up 
with the technological changes.''

The AFP has been targeting ''child sex tourism hotspots'' in 
Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines - including towns and areas 
that are well-known destinations for overseas paedophiles.

The national manager of the AFP's high-tech crime operations, 
Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan, said police had seen an increase 
in child pornography involving penetration, including abuse by women. 
He said the material was mostly created in Russia and North America. 
Offenders in Australia have been caught creating child porn privately 
but are not known to have created material for commercial use.

Mr Negus said child pornography rings were increasingly using social 
networking and were at the ''forefront of encryption''. ''This is a 
growing problem. As we get more into the technology our covert 
practices become more entrenched and enhanced. We are seeing more of 
this activity.''

The government also yesterday passed legislation directed at 
organised crime, including greater protection for undercover police 
and powers to charge criminals with ''unexplained wealth'' who cannot 
show it was legally acquired.



Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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