TACKLING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN THE CYBERSPACE: A COMPARATIVE

STUDY

GOLAK PRASAD SAHOO

Associate Professor,

Faculty of Law, BHU.

ABSTRACT: The production of sexually explicit imagery dates back to the

prehistory of human beings. The later development of both artisanal technology
and trade in the ancient Greek and Roman world created a thriving commercial use
of sexual images which have been found to adorn of bewildering array of object
including wine cooler, dinnerware, bronze bowls, vases, domestic walls in the
forms of painting and murals, and even children drinking bowls and plants. In the
modern era, the development of printing was rapidly followed by a proliferation of
sexually explicit publications, including books, pamphlets, posters, and cartoons.
Further, in the end of the 20th century and the beginning of 21st, the invention and
innovation of the computer, computer system and computer resource has fuelled up
creation and transmission of child pornographic images by technological and
commercial developments. There are those online communications that
specifically entail the sexualized representation of minors, and such online content
raises a range of thorny issues. Firstly, some forms of child pornography
representation are illegal and some are not: the same representation may be
permissible in one country but not in another: regulating access to such content
online can prove difficult to bring into regulation on the ground of child obscenity.
Secondly, arguments may be made for the prohibition of such content on the
grounds of harm, while others may resist such restriction in the name of freedom of
speech. Thirdly, even where the content is illegal, the transactional nature of the
Internet presents serious challenges for law enforcement. Fourthly, there arise
serious jurisdictional and practical issues when it comes to enforcing anti-child
pornography laws in the online environment. This paper examines the complex
debates relating to offensive and harmful content are among the most contentious
issues relating to the cyberspace that is paperless, borderless and material less
environment.

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