- Paul Bocij
Transcription
- Paul Bocij
ABSTRACT Camuirls. blous and wish lists: howvounu people are courting danueronthe internet1 This paper examines the risks surrounding a growing trend for young people to create personal websites that feature online diaries or live video feeds. These websites often chronicle the most intimate parts of their owners' lives in great detail. Unfortunately, a young person may sometimes unintentionally attract the attention of an internet predator visiting the site, for example by publishing unsuitable pictures or through inappropriate selfdisclosure. This risk is increased when a young person has only limited awareness of the basic precautions that should be taken when publishing material to a website or communicating with visitors. However, in a growing number of cases young people are deliberately placing themselves at risk in order to gain a variety of Downloaded by The British Library At 03:36 03 February 2015 (PT) benefits, both emotional and material. The discussion examines the emergence of a 'wish list' scene and considers some of the ways in which adults can exploit young people, for example by encouraging them to promote adult services. The paper concludes by offering several potential measures that might be used to reduce risks to young people. Paul Bocij Author and Chartered IT Practitioner llliiDUCDII The media, academics and the criminal justice system have paid a great KEYWORDS internet risks we beams online diaries young people deal of attention to the threat to young people posed by paedophiles who use the internet to locate and groom potential victims. However, few people seem to have considered the possibility that some young people may be placing themselves at risk through their online activities. A recent trend has been for many teenagers to publish their diaries via the internet, complete with photographs and even video sequences. Some of the websites produced by these teenagers are relatively sophisticated, containing interactive features such as guest books, user polls and even instant messaging facilities. lt is also common for a website to feature a live video feed from a web cam often located in the young person's bedroom. The teenagers who create sites offering video feeds are usually known as camgirls or camboys. Until quite recently a great deal of effort was needed to produce an online journal. Typical journals are made up of many brief entries that need to be organised in date order and then consolidated within a single page. However, many sites are created using specialised software that simplifies the task of creating and publishing entries. One of the most popular programs in use is named Blogger 2 and is available free of charge. The 1 This article has been adapted frOm Cyberstalking: Harassment in the Internet Age and How to Protect your Family by Paul Bocij and published by Praeger Press. 2 Blogger is produced by Pyra labs and is available from (http://www.blogger.com). Community Safety Journal • Volume 3 Issue 3 • July 200410 Pavilion 111111111, blals • WlslllsiS: hiM 11111 •••• n cour11.. 11111• 1n 1111 1111111• internet predators program has become so popular that creating web journals is now often referred to as 'blogging'. The on the web. lt's a place to collect and share things that you find interesting - whether it's your political commentary, a personal diary, or links to web sites you for many people and blogs have begun to reflect almost every aspect of society. For instance, in the United Kingdom, a casual browser can gain an inside view of politics through the blogs created by MPs, such as Tom Watson or lim Yeo (see http://www.tom-watson.co.uk and http://tim-yeo.blogspot.com), learn who won The Guardian's competition to find the best British blog (Guardian Unlimited, 2003), want to remember. Many people use a blog just to organize their own thoughts, while others command influential, worldwide audiences of thousands. Professional and amateur journalists use blogs to publish breaking news, while personal journalers reveal inner or watch the creative processes behind the work of British celebrities such as jamie Oliver or Neil Gaiman (see http://www.jamie ol iver.com/diarylindex.htrnl and http://www.neilgaiman.com/journaV journal.asp). Relatively Iittle is known about the popularity of blogging and the existence of a large number of teenage diarists is also supported by the fact that a number of dedicated hosting services have recently become available, such as Teen Open Diary and Deardiary.net (www.deardairy.net and www.teenopendiary.com). These sites provide various facilities for thoughts. Whatever you have to say, Blogger can help you say it' www.blogger.com/about.pyra characteristics of bloggers. For instance, there are no reliable estimates of the number of bloggers located in individual countries. However, a recent survey of more than 3,000 web logs by a research company, Perseus, found that blogging is most popular among teenage girls (Orlowski, 2003). those who create online diaries but also provide features for those interested in reading diary entries, such as a search faci Iity. At face value, the publication of an online diary seems innocent enough and does not appear to pose any danger to the writer. However, many people have More than half of web logs are created by teenagers and more than 90% by people under 30. Perseus also estimated that the eight most popular hosting companies held more than 5 million blogs at the end of 2003 and have predicted that these companies will be hosting more than 10 million blogs by the end of 2004 (Perseus pointed out that web diaries expose a great deal of information about their authors, enabling paedophiles and other predators to select potential targets more easily. Some people have noted that many teenagers fail to realise that information such as their full/real names and addresses is often program's website describes a 'blog' like this: Downloaded by The British Library At 03:36 03 February 2015 (PT) 'l\ blog gives you your own voice WilT IS I WEBLII/BLII;t A blog is a web page made up of usually short. frequently updated posts that are arranged chronologically -like a 'what's new' page or a journal. The content and purposes of blogs varies greatly -from links and commentary about other websites, to news about a company/person/idea, to diaries, photos, poetry, mini-essays, project updates, and even fiction. Within just a few years, blogging has become an enjoyable pastime Development Corporation, 2004). There may be many millions of camgi rls, cam boys and bloggers across the United States and Europe. For instance, Preston (2001) states that 'In America, about one in every five children aged 12 to 17more than 4 million of them - now has a personal web page... The sites are filled with regularly updated logs, stories, poems, pictures and even real-time video images: The available in the public domain Community Safety Journal • Volume 3 Issue 3 • July 2004 Cl Pavilion 111111111, lllals • Wlsllllls: 11111111111 • • • are COid•ll•••• an 1111 . . . . . internel predators Downloaded by The British Library At 03:36 03 February 2015 (PT) (Valetk, 2003; Frauenfelder, 2002). For instance, when a domain name is registered, the details of the owner- including address and telephone number- can be looked up by carrying out a whois query, a relatively simple process that can be performed via the interne"tl. Although some teenagers may be inadvertently exposing themselves to risk, it is more disturbing to find that some teenagers deliberately set (www.iwantthispresent.com and www.gift-genie.co.uk). Although many teenagers offer in exchange for an immediate payment. In addition, before online nothing in exchange for the gifts they want, some offer to send photographs or other items to someone providing a gift described in a wish list Rowan (2002a), payment services such as PayPal and NoChex, the delay between a paedophile sending a gift and the teenager receiving it via the postal system may have provided a natural cooling-off period. In many cases, this might have allowed the teenager to reconsider their actions and decide to cease describes how some teenagers exploit their sexuality in order to encourage gifts: out to attract the attention of older men. Many teenagers, mainly females, produce websites that solicit gifts from visitors who are usually complete strangers. Often, a website will contain a link to a 'wish list' hosted by a company such as Amazon. Many companies offer this service as a way of letting 'But some young girls are taking these most public of diaries a stage further, and posing in their bedrooms for prurient webcam photographs that they use to persuade strangers to buy them gifts. Although many children simply point visitors to their 'wish lists' on shopping sites such as communicating with the paedophile. However, sending money instantly via the internet effectively eliminates any coolingoff period. In turn, since the teenager may have already received payment they are likely to feel pressured into agreeing to the paedophile's wishes. friends and relatives know which gifts would be most appreciated for a special occasion, such as a birthday. A person reading the wish list follows a simple series of steps in order to select the gift they would like to buy, pay for it and then have it dispatched directly to the owner of the list. Although Amazon ... a number are actively soliciting gifts with the promise of more revealing photographs in return: The ability to send money via the Internet raises a number of issues with regard to predators, such as paedophiles. In the past it was One of the attractions of sending money via the internet for paedophiles is that the risk of discovery is lowered. This is because it is no longer necessary to make use of the postal system. For instance, there is no possibility that parents may become suspicious when their child begins to receive originally offered as an additional service by a few online retailers, wish lists have become so popular that dedicated websites have now started to appear, such as /WantThisPresent.com. Countryspecific services have also started to appear, such as Gift-Genie, a British service that appears to be aimed necessary for paedophiles to send money or gifts via the postal system. Naturally, this incurred delays and increased the risk of detection. The ability to send money via the internet means that paedophiles are now able to obtain instant gratification, for example, by persuading a camgirl to perform mysterious packages from a stranger. However, this additional security is offset somewhat by the fact that it becomes easier to gather evidence against the paedophile once they have been detected. This is because there is likely to be a dear electronic trail between his credit card and the teenager's bank directly at young people live sex acts in front of the web cam account. ' InfOrmation concerning the owner of a domain can be withheld if the owner specifically requests this. Community Safety Journal • Volume 3 Issue 3 • July 200410 Pavilion 111111111, blals • WlslllsiS: hiM 11111 •••• n cour11.. 11111• 1n 1111 1111111• internet predators Downloaded by The British Library At 03:36 03 February 2015 (PT) In addition to money, camgirls likelihood of receiving money or Cam Girls Gone Wild, where paying visitors can see her nbikini photographs": often receive gifts such as digital expensive gifts. As mentioned cameras, DVD players, webcams, earlier, one way in which camgirls DVDs, books, video cassettes, attempt to attract more visitors to cordless telephones, lingerie and their sites is by publishing more For many people, the reason why even pets (Anderssen, 2002; Cha, revealing photographs. For instance, men buy gifts for camgirls seems 2001; Frauenfelder, 2002; Rowan, some camgirls promise nude very clear. For instance, Valetk 2002a). One camboy, for instance, photographs or other materials in (2003) suggests 'For adult admirers, claims to have received a DVD exchange for gifts (Anderssen, player, 62 CDs and 18 movies 2002). However, many camgirls within the space of a few months also form links with adult websites (Cha, 2001 ). However, the in order to generate an income. the hope is often that their gifts will buy more than just photos. For example, a predator may eventually ask for sexually explicit photos or try motivation behind becoming a Although some money can be camgi rl or camboy is not solely a made by advertising pornography to persuade the minor to meet offline'. Although some people have desire for material gain. sites, a much larger income can be claimed innocent motives for Freuenfelder (2002) states 'The truth made from the commission earned sending gifts to camgirls, many of is most cam girls are as interested in garnering attention as they are in gathering Wish Ust merchandise or PayPal'donations". by convincing people to sign up to the reasons given seem dubious. adult sites. In the US, camgirls can For instance, some people have earn $1 0 for each person that signs claimed that web journal entries up for a given service (Anderssen, have literary merit and can be 2002). For many, this provides compared to works such as Anne sites receive only a handful of enough money to pay for a web visitors, others have become connection but others can earn extremely popular. Cha (2001 ), for even more. For instance, Rowan Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" or even The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. example, reports that the most (2002a) describes the case of a UK popular sites can each receive up to camgirl who received a commission dangers arising from their activities. 5000 visitors each day and can of £1 00 from advertising adult Cha (2001 ), for example, describes generate up to 200 email messages. websites. Rowan also describes the how pictures of camgirls have been Anderssen (2002) also reports on a case of a fourteen-year-old camgirl stolen by pornographers who have camgi rl site that receives more than named Kerry: used them on their own sites. In Although the majority of camgirl 1000 visits each day. Similarly, Frauenfelder (2002) describes a single site that receives 6000 visitors each month. The owner of the site enjoys such popularity that she operates a fan club on Yahoo! that has 1000 registered members. lt seems apparent that the more popular the website, the greater the Camgirls face a number of addition to the distress caused to 'But what sets Kerry's site apart from the typical schoolgirl's are the links she trails from her front page to adult sites that pay her for referring new subscribers. And not only does she trail other sites but last week_ she says, she received a cheque for $80 from the teenagers involved, such a development also raises the possibility that teenagers might be targeted by paedophiles or stalkers. However, even the relatively innocent act of posting web journal entries and photographs to a personal website may be enough to •ihe choice Of Anne Frank's diary as a comparison is an interesting one. The diary has recently been cited in the debate concerning child pornography since the unexpurgated edition contains her thoughts and feelings on sexuality. lt has been argued that some of Anne Frank's writings can be seen as pornography and there have been attempts to ban it in some US states. Community Safety Journal • Volume 3 Issue 3 • July 2004 Cl Pavilion 111111111, lllals • Wlsllllls: 11111111111 • • • are COid•ll•••• an 1111 . . . . . inlernel providers bring a camgirl to the attention of paedophiles. Whatever the risk, it is almost certain to be increased Downloaded by The British Library At 03:36 03 February 2015 (PT) when camgirls link their sites to adult content hosted elsewhere. In the UK, the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit believes that paedophiles are already targeting the sites of some camgirls (Rowan, 2002b). This is supported by a growing number of personal accounts describing stalking incidents that can be easily found via search engines. Ironically, many of these accounts are held within web logs created by camgirls and camboys. Anderssen (2002) also notes that the behaviour of some camgirls is'.. .an enticing invitation to paedophiles who are already finding a bounty of targets on the internet'. The danger posed by stalkers and cyberstalkers5 is raised byValetk (2003), who states: 'For parents and law enforcement, the overwhelming concern is that any interaction betw'een minors and total strangers could lead to stalking and other unhealthy obsessions. Internet safety experts... warn that paedophiles use camgirl sites to interact with teens, meet them in chat rooms, and ultimately persuade them to meet in person.' 5 exchange for escorting wealthy, middle-aged patrons to cafes and restaurants (and often providing them with sexual favours), the girls receive financial compensation, which they use to buy consumer electronics, cosmetics, and clothes' (Frauenfelder, 2002). Many lt is worth noting that many camgirls and camboys operate their sites without the knowledge of their parents (Cha, 2001; Frauenfelder, 2002; Rowan, 2002a). Some deliberately mislead their parents concerning the content of their sites, but others simply exploit the fact that they have limited parental supervision. For example, a study by the Cyberspace Research Unit (2002) found that one in two Japanese teenagers join internet dating services and promote themselves in much the same way as camgirls. However, as the children reported that their parents never supervise their on line activities. If a problem arises there is a natural reluctance to involve parents and so it becomes easy for the situation to spiral out of control. Some camgirls admit to meeting with people they have met on the Internet Although many take precautions, for example by bringing a friend along, others seem to have little concern for their safety. The case of Christina Long, a 13-year-old girl murdered by a man she met via the internet provides a tragic example of the dangers involved in internet dating (BBCi, 2002a). In a more recent case, ex- number of dating services has increased, so too has the number of crimes related to Internet dating. For instance, in the first six months of 2002, the number of crimes more than doubled, growing from 302 to 793. More than 70% of these crimes involved girls aged between 13 and 18 (Ninemsn, 2002; BBCi, 2002b). Amongst the offences recorded were a murder, 23 rapes and six cases of robbery. lt seems only a matter of time before compensated dating begins to appear in Europe and the United States. lt can be argued that adults seeking to exploit camgirls and marine Toby Studabaker admitted a number of charges in relation to the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl he met via a chat room (Carter, 2004). In Japan, teenagers have started to engage in a practice called enjo kosai ('compensated dating'), which involves offering an escort service in exchange for money or gifts: 'In camboys bear much of the responsibility for placing them at risk. For instance, there are many websites that provide reviews of camgirl sites, including detailed comments on the physical appearance of the teenagers described. Some sites even provide directories of camgirl pages, See Bocij, 2004 for a detailed discussion Of cybE!rstalking. Community Safety Journal • Volume 3 Issue 3 • July 200410 Pavilion 111111111, blals • WlslllsiS: hiM 11111 •••• n cour11.. 11111• 1n 1111 1111111• internet providers allowing users to search for sites by the more the owner and the camgirl number of young people making the age of the camgirl, her location profit regular use of the internet, the and whether or not the site contains The situation regarding camgirls nudity and/or pornography'. lt is and camboys seems to have come one, suggesting a need for further worth noting that the listings about as part of the natural attention and appropriate action. provided by these sites are often evolution of the internet accompanied by prominent adverts Frauenfelder (2002) suggests several indicated a number of potential for websites offering pornography or factors that may have been an measures that might be taken to adult dating services. influence: help protect young people. One visitors to their sites, many teenagers join cam portals. These are special websites that show previews from a number of web cams simultaneously. Since previews are usually shown in order of popularity, camgirls need to find ways of attracting attention to themselves, for example by behaving outrageously or by showing nudity. The more visitors to a camgirl's site, the more prominently the site is advertised, resulting in yet more visitors to the camgirl's site, and so on. Many cam portals are subscription-based and attract subscribers by promising access to pornographic images and lt is argued that this article has approach, for instance, might In attempting to attract more Downloaded by The British Library At 03:36 03 February 2015 (PT) problem is likely to be a serious 'The cam girls phenomenon could not have happened before involve making it more difficult for predators to send money to young this moment in history. lt's the result of a combination of people via the internet. This might specific ingredients: inexpensive yet powerful technology to send and receive video images over the Net; a culture that places a higher value on fame than on the skills and talent that make people famous; teen celebrities who happily flaunt their bodies on the covers of national magazines; and the timeless rite of passage that is a teenage girl's search for identity and blossoming awareness of her own sexual power: approve every transaction carried video feeds featuring teenagers. In be achieved by making parents out by their children, or by ensuring that parents are notified by emai I whenever a child receives a payment. Such an approach would be relatively simple to implement and would be unlikely to hinder the growth of e-commerce. Banks and payment services, such as PayPal, might also consider ways of making online financial transactions safer for young people. As an example, one option might be to prevent young people under a certain age from receiving money via the Internet. many cases, the relationship Although this article has identified between a camgirl and the owner and described a number of of a cam portal is symbiotic. The potential threats to young intemet people is by providing more camgirl receives a commission for users, a number of fundamental comprehensive information and each person who subscribes to the questions remain to be answered. advice about on line safety. Such service. This generates a profit for For instance, the potential size of information could be provided the cam portal and helps to the problem is unknown because through a variety of channels increase traffic, some of which is we lack even the most basic including schools, internet service directed back to the camgirl's knowledge, such as the number of providers (ISPs), internet safety website. The greater the number of camgirls and camboys currently organisations, children's charities, people attracted to the cam portal, active. However, given the sheer and so on. Concerns that the core Another way of protecting young • Examples of the names and locations of suCh sites have not been provided fOr obVious reasons. Community Safety Journal • Volume 3 Issue 3 • July 2004 Cl Pavilion Cllllllls, IIIOIS -IIISIIISIS: IIDW Jllll · · - lrt CGII'II. ••••• on lllllllllnll Downloaded by The British Library At 03:36 03 February 2015 (PT) -internet providers message of current safety campaigns - beware of strangers might be lost or diluted by bombarding children with additional information could be dealt with by providing information in context. As an example, appropriate information concerning privacy could be displayed on the screen or sent by email whenever a young person carries out an action related to creating a website, such as registering a domain name or opening an account for free web space. Parents must also receive more information and advice so that they can help their children to remain safe. Earlier, it was reported that one in two children use the internet unsupervised. This means that simply encouraging parents to take an interest in the on line activities of their children may bring about an immediate and significant reduction in the activities of online predators. Finally, it is argued that this paper has helped to identify a relatively new threat to the safety of young people. However, as mentioned earlier, more information is needed before we will be able to understand this problem fully and can start to develop effective responses. At the risk of perpetuating a cliche, such information will only be gained through additional research and debate. lt is hoped that the discussion offered by this paper has helped to start this process. Anderssen E (2002) Camgirfs: Empowerment or predator enticement? [online]. 19 October 2002. Toronto: Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. Available at: http://www.globetech nology.comlservlet I ArticleNews/gtnewslrGAM/2 0021 019/ UCAMMN [Accessed: 25 March 2003]. BBCi (2002a) Girl, 13, murdered by man from internet chatroom (online]. BBCi, 21 May 2002. Available at: http://news.bbc.co. uk/1/hilworldlameric as/2000959.stm (Accessed 12 Marrll 2004]. BBCi (2002b) Japan Internet sex crimes rocket [online). BBCi, 22 August 2002. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asiapacifid2209084.stm [Accessed 15 March 2004). Bocij P (2004) Cyberstalking: Harassment in the Internet Age and How to Protect your Family. Westport, 0 : Praeger Press. Carter H (2004) Ex-US marine who groomed 12-year-old admits abduction and indecency charges [online]. Guardian Unlimited 13 February 2004. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uklcrimelarticle/ 0,2763,1147262,00.html (Accessed 12 March 2004). Cha AE (2001) Dear Ww Diary, SO Much to Tell! [on line) The Washington Post 2 September 2001. Available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/w p-dyn/A30916-2001Sep1 (Accessed 12 March 2004]. Cyberspace Research Unit (2002) Young People's Use Of Chat Rooms: Implications for Policy Strategies and Programs of Education. Preston: Home Office Internet Task ForceJUniversity of Central Lancashire. Frauenfelder M (2002) Cam Girls [online]. Yahoo Internet life. Available at http://boingboing.neVcamgirls.html [Accessed 12 June 2004]. Guardian Unlimited (2003) The best of British blogging [online]. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/weblorfawar ds2003 [Accessed 12 March 2004] . Community Safety journal • Volume 3 Issue 3 • July 2004 o Pavilion Ninemsn (2002) Japanese Internet dating crime doubles [online]. 22 August 2002. Sydney: Ninemsn Ply Ltd. Available at http://news.ninemsn.com.auiSci_Techlst ory_37762.asp [Accessed 25 March 2003]. Orlowski A (2003) 'Biogosphere' to reach 10 million, almost all dead report [online]. The Register 4 October 2003. Available at http://www.theregister.co.uk/contenVarc hive/33214.html [Accessed 12 March 2004]. Perseus Development Corporation (2004) The Blogging Iceberg- Of 4.12 Million Hosted Weblogs, Most little Seen, Quickly Abandoned [online). Perseus Development Corporation. Available at: http://www.perseus.com/blogsurveylthe bloggingiceberg.html [Accessed 12 March 2004]. Preston M (2001 ) Dear diary, I really need a DVD player [online]. lndependentco.uk. 5 October 2001. Available at http://oows.independentco.uklworldfa mericaslstory.jsp?story=97799 [Accessed 15 March 2001]. Rowan D (2002a) Every parent's worst nightmare [online). Guardian Unlimited, 7 July 2002. Available at http://observer.guardian.co.uklfocus/stor y/0,6903,750840,00.html [Accessed 15 March 2004]. Rowan D (2002b) Police probe paedophile links to teen 'camgirl' sites [online]. Guardian Unlimited, 7 July 2002. Available at http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_newsl story/0,6903,750863,00.html [Accessed 15 March 2004]. Valetk H (2003) Teens And The Internet: Disturbing 'Camgirl' Sites Deserve a Closer Look [online]. 23 January 2003. /'viountain View, CA: RndLaw. Available at: http://writnews.findlaw.com/commenta ryl20030123_valetk.html [Accessed 25 March 2003). This article has been cited by: Downloaded by The British Library At 03:36 03 February 2015 (PT) 1. Paul Bleakley. 2014. "500 Tokens to Go Private": Camgirls, Cybersex and Feminist Entrepreneurship. Sexuality e!r Culture . [CrossRef]