Controlling Internet Child Pornography and Protecting the Child

After setting out the proposals for the control of child pornography contained in the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime, the article examines the extent to which the existing law in England and Wales is compatible with these proposals. There is then a discussion of the criteria underlying the sentencing policy suggested by the Sentencing Advisory Panel drawing attention to the problems which arise from the fact that the law is related more to the images transmitted than to the actual suffering of the child. The requirements and problems of effective enforcement are examined in some detail, highlighting both the vast steps which have been taken in recent years and the gaps which still remain in the policing of this activity. Finally, the conclusion discusses whether either the way in which the laws are written or their application constitutes the most effective way of protecting real children from abuse.