Internet Child Porn An Issue At Stockholm Congress STOCKHOLM - Distribution of child pornography on the Internet seems destined to top the issues at the world's first conference against sexual exploitation of children opening later this month in Stockholm. Activists are trying to devise ways of keeping pedophiles from peddling such material on the global computer network, which is already used as a billboard to advertise prostitution and sex tourism and to exchange adult pornography. But not everyone agrees that regulating the Internet or its 20 million users worldwide is the right move. Some advocates say the Internet represents free speech. Others argue that the distribution of child pornography on the Internet is not that widespread. Still, many see it as a problem. "The Internet is like heaven for the pedophile," said Toby Tyler, a United States police officer who lectures at the FBI Academy on child abuse. "As far as our ability to restrict the distribution of child pornography and stop the sexual exploitation of children on the Internet...it's not something that can be done." Campaigners are concerned that unless urgent action is taken to stamp out the Internet's distribution of child porn, whether it features real children or just computer generated images, it could spark greater demand for child pornography. "Neglecting to prohibit computer generated images could well re-establish the commercial trade -- filling bookstores with computer images, de-sensitizing society and fueling demand for such material," said campaigner Margaret Healy from Bangkok-based End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT). Tyler said the Internet has ended the days when pedophiles had to make costly cross-border runs to buy child pornography in countries where laws were laxer and penalties lighter. Now they can obtain and distribute films and photos from their own homes on the Internet with little risk of capture. Tyler said the existence of anonymous re-mailers -- computer systems which accept material transmitted over computer lines and send it out again after coding its original address -- concealed the source of pornography on the Internet. "Before on-line sex material was available, you'd to find someone to sell it to you, trade with you, or produce it yourself. The net provides a very high level of safety." Short of denying people access to the network, he added, there was little to be done. Even convicted pedophiles with access to computers in prisons can get the material. However computer experts agree the existence of just one re-mailing system in a country with more lax laws is enough for the global distribution of child pornography on the Internet. Tyler said the most widely used re-mailing system currently operates from Finland, through which about 99 percent of all child pornography with untraceable address codes passes. But Johan Helsingius, who runs a re-mailing system from Helsinki, said he did not think child pornography was a problem on the Internet or that any of the 10,000 messages which pass through his server daily contained child pornography. "To a large extent the net is self-regulating. As soon as you do something that offends enough people, measures will be taken by those who are involved with the net," he said. ECPAT's Healy said in a report prepared for the five-day Stockholm conference that opens on August 27 that the regulation of child pornography on computers presents special challenges and called on governments to fund better training. "The establishment of an international research organization with...specialists in the areas of investigation, law enforcement, behavioral science, prosecution, law and computer technology could be an invaluable resource for the global community," Healy said. Copyright, Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved