From Dark Web to Courtroom: Policy and Legal Responses to Tech-Enabled Pedophilic Crimes in a Globalised Era

Abstract

The proliferation of internet technologies has fundamentally changed the landscape of crime, and child sexual exploitation is no exception. Enabled by the widespread availability of anonymising technologies, encrypted communication platforms and decentralised peer-to-peer networks, offenders with pedophilic interests can now act with greater impunity and global reach than ever before (Europol, 2021a). A digital ecosystem provides opportunities for offences that previously depended on physical proximity: rapid access to child sexual abuse material (CSAM), online grooming, trafficking, and live-streamed exploitation (UNODC, 2015; WeProtect Global Alliance, 2021).