1. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OBSCENITY: PERVASIVENESS, THREAT AND HARMS Presentation Prepared By Donna Rice Hughes (copyright 2002)

2. Overview The World Of CyberSex –What’s happening? Just Harmless Fun? –Why should we care? The Search For Solutions –What should we do?

3. THE WORLD OF CYBERSEX INDUSTRY

4. Cyber-Porn Beginnings BBS (Robert Thomas) –Newsgroups- Web Barriers of access to all types of sexually-explicit material is virtually obliterated by the Internet –Anonymity –Ease of Access –Porn of choice (including black-market porn) –Inexpensive –Under law enforcement radar

5. National Research Council Independent Study, 2002 Large amounts of very graphic sexually explicit content on the Internet Easy to access Can stumble across it inadvertently Sometimes pushed on people (including minors) Some would have been prosecuted if in print under past policy Some more graphic and shocking than what is easily available through non-Internet sources National Research Council, (NRC) Independent Study, 2002

6. THE CYBERSEX INDUSTRY Scale Online pornography is the first consistently successful e-commerce product (C-net, 4/28/99) Generates approximately $1 billion annually Expected to grow to $5-$7 billion over next 5 years, barring unforeseen change Total Adult Industry- estimates from $4 billion to $10 billion (NRC, 3-1)

7. THE CYBERSEX INDUSTRY Structure Subscription sites exceed 100,000 in U.S. operated by about 1,000 U.S. based firms The two largest individual buyers of bandwidth are U.S. firms in adult online industry Structure of industry consists of small number of large firms and larger number of small firms (NRC, 3-1)

8. FOLLOW THE MONEY Generation of Online Porn Revenue: Consumer sales Mousetrapping- Referral fee Advertising (1 million annually (CRC 3.2) ) –CPA model-Cost per acquisition –CPC model-Cost per click –CPM model- Cost per million (CPM, CPC, & Mousetrapping Models have no incentive to distinguish between child and adult traffic) (NRC Study, 2002)

9. FUTURE TRENDS Due to saturated market: –More aggressive marketing –Incentives to niche market: –Well-established firms testified sex sites becoming more specialized to accommodate any preference or extreme material as route to future growth (NRC 3.5)

10. Free “Teaser” Images 74% of adult commercial sites display free teaser porn images on homepage, often porn banner ads 66% did not include a warning of adult content 11% included such a warning but did not have sexually explicit content on homepage 25 % prevented users from exiting site (Mousetrapping) Only 3% required adult verification (Child-proofing on the World wide Web: A Survey of Adult Webservers,2001, Jurimetrics. NRC Report 2002)

11. Porn-Napping and Hijacking 40,000 expired domain names porn-napped New owners offer re-sale $500-2,000 (NRC) Extortion or Blackmail? Hijacked to porn or gambling sites (5/30/02 Agency France Passe) –Moneyopolis.com –hijacked to XXX site- Formally an Ernst &Young site for kids (NYT, 2001)

12. Deceptive Marketing Practices Misspelled Words- (shareware vs. sharware) (17% NCMEC ) Innocent Searches- (toys, boys, pets, etc)(47% NCMEC ) Stealth Sites- (whitehouse.com ; coffeebeansupply.com; teenagershideout.com; http://clothingcatalog.com; watersports.com) Brand Name Misuse (Disney, Nintendo, Barbie, Levis, etc) Unsolicited email- Spam

13. Pornographer’s Use of Brand Names 26 popular children’s characters, such as Pokemon, My Little Pony & Action Man, revealed thousands of links to porn sites 30% were hard-core (Envisional 2000) 25% of porn sites are estimated to use popular brand names in search engine magnets, metatags and links- Disney, Nintendo, and Barbie (Cyveillance Survey, 1999)

14. COFFEEBEANSUPPLY (Hijacks) Free Teaser Images in each Category Animal; stories; gay; anal; www.sex.com; oral;alt.sex; sex.com; teen; pictures; gals; pics; chicks; indian; black; with animals; ****;stories; interracial; pictures; hot; pics; lesbian; group; hardcore; asian; adult; cartoon; dog; live; phone; preteen; teenage; etcAnimalstories;gay; anal;www.sex.com; oral;alt.sex; sex.com;teen; pictures; gals; pics;chicks; indian;black;with animals;stories;interracial;pictureshot; pics; lesbian;group; hardcore;asian;adult; cartoon;dog;live; phone; preteen; teenage; etc

15. ONLINE OBSCENITY Watersports.com –Photos of women urinating –Live ‘streaming’ video Boys.com -Hijacks to “Man Alert: Leading Gay Content Site” -Photos of gay sexual activity

16. A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words Influence 1.Public opinion 2.Media (NYT story) 3.Congress 4.Jury

17. WAYBACK MACHINE Hosted in U.S. at www.archive.org, Archives earlier versions of websites including obscenity and child pornographywww.archive.org Child porn: [warning: contains graphic photos of children being raped] http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://Illegalheat.com http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://Sexteens.com Obscenity http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://bestiality.com http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://rotten.com http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://scatcafe.com

18. YAHOO! Yahoo’s Clubs, Members Directories and Geocities sites host child porn and encourage child sex abusers Yahoo! Family Incest Club Yahoo! Rape Club Yahoo! Incest Directory Yahoo! Child Pornography Crimes Directory

19. Child Pornography 345% increase in child pornography sites between 2/2001 - 7/2001 (N2H2 press release, 8/01) Child Porn Spam Increase- Children at risk -less careful online -use chat rooms where their email addresses are collected by unknown people -increases chance of kids viewing spam sent to them by email (NCMEC, Pioneer Press, 12/17/01) Virtual Validation-Like-minded communities

20. PORNOGRAPHY- Tool used by Pedophiles to arouse the child, to lower the child’s inhibitions, to demonstrate to their victims what they want them to do, to communicate that a particular sexual activity is okay.

21. The World of Cybersex Consumer

22. INTERNET ACCESS (As of September 2001) *143 million Americans (54 % of the population) have Internet access *90 % ( 47.4 million) of children between the ages of 5 and 17 use computers at home or school *75% of teens ages 14-17 use the Internet *65% of preteens ages 10-13 use the Internet (Source: CNN report, 2/7/02, Commerce Department Study)

23. 1999 Yankelovich Survey 50% teens admit to visiting porn sites* –79% found porn on school or library computers –Increase of 70% since 1997 –67% accessed porn at home –64% accessed porn at friend’s house -75% of parents claimed to know ‘everything’ or ‘fair amount’ about their kids Internet activity

24. Kaiser Family Foundation Study 2001 Among youth ages15-17 year: 70 % have accidentally stumbled on porn online –‘Very’ or ‘somewhat’ often (23%) 55% were ‘not too’ upset 45% were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ upset 63% favored CIPA (filtering in schools & libraries) Of youth ages 15-24: 2 in 3 say being exposed to online porn could have serious impact on kids under age 18. 59% think seeing pornography on the Internet encourages youth to have sex before they are ready

25. 2002 Adult industry says some traffic is 20-30% children (NRC Report 2002, 3.3) 9 in 10 kids ages 8-16 yrs have viewed porn online, mostly unintentionally, and when using the Internet to do homework (UK:News Telegraph, NOP Research Group, 1/17/02) 11 year old girl doing homework, She logged into a website labeled "Adolf Hitler pictures", faced with child pornography, "gaysexfreepics". Two brothers, aged 10 and 12, found homosexual images instead of pop band Boyzone

26. National Center For Missing & Exploited Children Study 71% searching the Internet 29% IM or email Home- 67% School- 15% Library- 3% (NCMEC, Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation’s Youth (Sample of 1,501 youth ages 1-17 who use Internet regularly, June 2001)

27. CYBERSEX- CRACK COCAINE OF SEX ADDICTION “Sex on the net is like heroin. It grabs them and takes over their lives.” Dr. Mark Scwartz, Masters & Johnson, NYT, May, 2000 Cyber-sex is a public health hazard exploding because very few are recognizing it as such or taking it seriously (MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, AP 2000) Cyber-sex reinforces and normalizes sexual disorders (Dr. Robert Weiss, Sexual Recovery Institute, Washington Times, 1/26/00)

28. Skinner Box Effect Etiology Internet browsers force the blind selection of images; and not all images are equally stimulating to the user. The user does not know WHICH image selection (behavior) will yield high level stimulation (reinforcement). Like placing coins in a slot machine, a "payoff" sometimes occurs within three image clicks, then perhaps 10, etc. The user is thus placed on a classic Skinnerian variable ratio schedule of reinforcement--the SAME mechanism that drives gambling addiction. (Grundner, T.M. The Skinner Box Effect: Sexual Addiction and Online Pornography. New York: Writers Club Press. 2000)

29. The Skinner Box Effect - Implications Etiology of online pornography addiction is essentially the same as that of gambling addiction. NOT a "moral disease.“ Personal morality has nothing to do with the origins of the behavior. The Bad News: Gambling addiction is REALLY tough to treat. ( Grundner, T.M. The Skinner Box Effect: Sexual Addiction and Online Pornography. New York: Writers Club Press. 2000)

30. CYBER-SEX COMPULSIONS 60% of all web-site visits are sexual in nature Sex is the # 1 searched word online 25 million Americans visit cyber-sex sites between 1-10 hours per week. Another 4.7 million in excess of 11 hours per week. (Does not include children who are becoming addicted) 200,000 considered “sex addicts” either lost their marriage, job, or both 20 million people visit sex sites each month (MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Survey of 9,265 people, 2000) 37% of pastors say it is a current struggle (Christianity Today, Leadership Survey,12/2001)

31. STUDENTS & CYBERSEX Students were most at risk for cybersex compulsions Due to a combination of increased access to computers, more private leisure time, & developmental stage characterized by increased sexual awareness & experimentation. (All stats from MSNBC/Stanford/Duquesne Study, 2000)

32. JUST HARMLESS FUN?

33. A rope with five strands: (No Smoking Gun) Advertising Impact of sexually-oriented businesses Controlled research studies Correlational research studies Experience of clinical psychologists (+ anecdotal evidence of people whose lives have been harmed) (Just Harmless Fun? Special Report, Enough Is Enough!, 2000, Watson & Welch)

34. I - Advertising If images don’t influence behavior, how do we explain the existence of the advertising industry? Visual images create brand images: –Marlboro Man, Pepsi Generation, Nike, etc What brand of sexuality is pornography promoting?

35. Overall Messages Advertising impact attitudes & behavior Sex sells Pornography advertises sex: –Without relationship –Without commitment –Without consequences

36. Portrayal of Women “The characteristic portrayal of women in pornography [is] as socially non- discriminating, as hysterically euphoric in response to just about any sexual or pseudosexual stimulation, and as eager to accommodate seemingly any and every sexual request” (Zillman & Bryant, 1984)

37. Missing Messages STD’s: Waiting for the results of an HIV test Unwanted Pregnancy: A girlfriend pregnant at 16 A student facing prosecution for date rape because he couldn’t decode the word “no” His partner, traumatized Negative impact on families and marriages

38. II - Sexually-Oriented Businesses “You don’t need a moral micrometer to recognize the sex industry turned Times Square into a slum” George Will, Newsweek, 1996 Zoning of SOBs is constitutionally permitted because of “secondary harmful effects” –Sexual offences, property crimes, decrease in values Ever wonder what causes “secondary harm”?

39. III –RESEARCH STUDIES Two types of research on pornography: 1)Controlled research – lab conditions, controlled to neutralize extraneous variables: identifies causation 2)Correlational studies – observation of real world events: identifies correlation (i.e. that certain things happen together), not causation (i.e. that one thing caused the other)

40. Controlled Research Correct test is the preponderance of the evidence Best approaches bring together multiple studies: –“review studies” (that compare the results of multi original research studies) –“meta-analyses” (that aggregate original studies meeting stringent tests of comparability)

41. Example Review Study 1994 review study of 81 original peer- reviewed research studies: –“the empirical research on the effects of aggressive pornography shows, with fairly impressive consistency, that exposure to these materials has a negative effect on attitudes toward women and the perceived likelihood to rape” Lyons, Anderson and Larsen

42. Example Meta-Analysis 1995 meta-analysis based on 24 original experimental studies: –“violence within the pornography is not necessary to increase the acceptance of rape myths” –which is of concern because “several recent meta- analyses demonstrate a high correlation between attitude and behavior” Allen, Emmers, Gebhardt & Giery

43. IV - Correlational Studies Must be used with care, since silent on causation ACLU asks: “Does pornography cause rape, or are rapists simply the sort of people who like pornography?” Why don’t they ask: Does drunk driving cause accidents, or are reckless drivers simply the sort of people who like to get loaded? Correlation is an accepted tool as the second blade on the social science research scissors: –One blade for causality –One blade for real-world application

44. Examples Of Correlational Studies Oklahoma City: Closed 150 out of 163 SOBs in five years; reported rapes declined 27% in same period, while rising 19% in rest of state Porn magazines: various studies found “strong evidence of very robust, direct correlation between circulation of sex magazines [in a state] and rape rates,” even after controlling for other variables Rape has increased by 500% in US since 1960, parallels growth of pornography industry (Protecting Your Child In an X-rated World, LaRue, York Tyndale, 2002)

45. V - Clinical Psychologists Fortune magazine cover story, 5/15/99 -“Addicted to Sex” – described destructive effects of pornography, prostitution and promiscuity on individuals and businesses (neutral source) Study of 932 sex addicts, 90 % of men and 77% of women said pornography played a significant role in their addiction (Patrick Carnes, (1991), whose clinic was featured in the Fortune article

46. Four Stage Progression: Dr. Victor Cline, University of Utah: 1.Addiction- The need to keep coming back for more (drug of choice) 2.Escalation- The need for more explicit, rougher & more deviant images for same effect 3.Desensitization- Material once shocking or taboo is acceptable 4.Acting out- Tendency to sexually act-out behaviors depicted in porn (promiscuity, bondage, rape, child molestation, Public safety issue)

47. Market Illustrates Trend The first three stages describe precisely the “progression” of the commercial “men’s” magazine over the last thirty years: –Penthouse 1970 – NO full frontal nudity –Penthouse 2000 – oral sex, vaginal intercourse (PCV), anal penetration with object, female urination –2001- Vaginal & oral sex too tame-- progression to anal sex to maintain the excitement. (2001), writer Martin Amis did an investigative piece for The Guardian newspaper –Penthouse 2001, Bob Guccione explains the growing market for a thing called bukkake, ("facials" with multiple males participating).

48. Biological Brain Responses Why? Imprinting Adrenal hormone – Epinephrine – responds to emotional stimuli by locking in memories Hormone- Opioids – released by nerve endings in response to pleasure – reinforce the body’s desire to repeat the process (1983-James McGaugh, Phd, American Psychologist)

49. Factors Particularly Affecting Children Why are there no controlled research studies on impact of pornography on children? –Because they would violate ethical and professional guidelines –Ethical Principles of American Psychological Association require “fully informed and competent decision to participate” with risks “understood by participants”

50. Teenagers Dr. Jennings Bryant, in a study of 600 American males and females teenagers, 91 % males and 82 % females exposed to hard-core porn. Over 66% of males and 40% of females wanted to try out some of the sexual behaviors. 31% of males and 18 % of the females admitted actually doing some of the things they had seen in pornography within a few days after exposure. (Cline, Pornography Effects)

51. Harms to Children Kids Online: Protecting Your Children In Cyberspace, Rice Hughes 1998 Interferes with a child’s development and identity Shapes attitudes and Values Promotes Desensitization May incite children to act out sexually against other children Typical age of first exposure- 5 yrs old! (Protecting Your Child In an X-rated World, LaRue/York Tyndale, 2002)

52. JUVENILE PERPETRATORS Juveniles- 48% of overall solicitations 48% of aggressive solicitations Adult solicitors- Most of the “adult” solicitors were ages 18- 25 24% of solicitations 34% of aggressive solicitations (NCMEC, Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation’s Youth (Sample of 1,501 youth ages 1-17 who use Internet regularly, June 2001)

53. Child Rapists Nearly half of the nation’s child molesters were children (Philadelphia Enquirer 1993) Juvenile sex offender programs: –22 in 1983 –755 in 1993 –1200 in 2002 (Protecting Your Child In an X-rated World, LaRue/York Tyndale, 2002)

54. THE SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS What should we do?

55. PREVENTION: THREE- PRONG SOLUTION A shared responsibility between the Public- Parents, Schools, Libraries, Businesses, Churches Technology Industry Legal Community- Law Enforcement & Public Policy Each provides an essential layer of protection Homeland defense: Evil of online pedophile or pornographers invading and intruding into the lives of Americans

56. PUBLIC PRONG ROLE OF PARENTS, TEACHERS, & LIBRARIANS - Awareness, education and empowerment -Safety Rules and Software tools- Both are essential, one without the other is ineffective -Gov’t can’t parent, & parents can’t enforce the laws

57. Techno-Phobic and Internet Challenged Parents 43% of children who have visited x-rated sites said they do not have rules about Internet use at home (Time/CNN Poll, 2000) 62% of parents are unaware that their children had accessed objectionable sites (Yankelovitch Partner Survey, 9/30/99) 1 in 2 parents don’t use protective software (FamilyPC, 2000)

58. PUBLIC LIBRARIES - Public Libraries had 82 million Internet sessions- annual porn incident rate of between 400,000 and 2 million (Dangerous Access, 2000) - 7,000 porn sites accessed in 2 days in Chesterfield, Va’s 9 public libraries. Board of Supervisors voted to filter all terminals (June 2001)

59. TECHNOLOGY PRONG WHAT CAN THE TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY DO? Develop technological solutions Implement technological solutions Industry Code of Conduct Choose not to offer newsgroups offering child pornography & obscenity Cooperate with law enforcement

60. Toxic Environment n How do we protect ourselves, our children, from the secondary effects in a culture that allows such toxic material to flourish? n How do we protect our children from others who may act out violently against them because of their own exposure to pornography?

61. Acting Out 11/98- 11-year-old Josh had been looking at graphic violent porn on the Internet for 20 minutes immediately before stabbing 8-year-old Maddie Clifton to death. 6/29/98- 13-year-old (boy) was in the Phoenix Burton Barr Library viewing porn on the Internet. He followed 4 year old into the bathroom and asked the younger boy to give him oral sex. (Dangerous Access 2000)

62. LEGAL PRONG GOVERNMENT & LAW ENFORCEMENT Aggressive enforcement of current laws (child porn, obscenity, child stalking laws) Federal, State, & Local cooperation & coordination Law enforcement training The public should not have to shoulder the burden of protecting against illegal content and criminal activity

63. Legislation –Child Online Protection Act (COPA)- Adult verification required on porn sites *(Safety Net ) –Child Pornography Protection Act- Extend law to include computer-generated child porn. Supreme Ct struck down –Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA)- Requires Schools & Libraries to filter –Loopholes- New Laws and Rulemaking: Spam, Deceptive Marketing Tactics, Mousetrapping

64. COPA Commission Recommendations to Law Enforcement Gov’t at all levels should fund, with significant new money, aggressive programs to investigate, prosecute and report violations of federal and state obscenity laws,” including efforts to protect children from obscenity Make available a list of Internet sources (no images) found to contain child porn and obscenity Pursuant to Congressional rulemaking Enforcement- deceptive, unfair business practices (mousetrapping, deceptive meta-tagging, spam)

65. National Research Council Recommendations “Vigorous prosecution of obscene material” Civil liability Enforcement of record-keeping requirements Streamline process of handling violations New rulemaking (spam, mousetrapping)

66. Public Support for Enforcement 76% of Americans think Internet porn should be banned The more accessible the medium, the less permissible sexually-explicit content should be: (% allowed) Video 37%Basic Cable 74% Premium Cable 41%Internet 76% Magazines 55% (State of the First Amendment, 1999 Freedom Forum)

67. Wirthlin Survey, 2002 Eight out of ten Americans (81%) believe federal laws against Internet obscenity should be vigorously enforced, and seven out of ten (70%) believe that strongly. A higher percentage of women support vigorous enforcement of federal laws against Internet obscenity than men (90% versus 72%). On the other hand, seven out of ten Americans (70%) say they do not believe these laws are currently being vigorously enforced.

68. Adult Internet Industry Conference (source:www.ia2000.com) “Peaches & cream as far as prosecutions” ( Paul Cambria, CNS News, 9/24/00) The industry has enjoyed “benevolent neglect” under Janet Reno (Adult Video News 2000) “If (Bush) gets elected, … fasten your seatbelts…” (Clyde DeWitt, CNS News, 9/24/00)

69. Enough Is Enough! -Appeal to Law Enforcement Public opinion drives public policy The pornographers have and will continue to push the envelop Take back the ground we’ve lost Collective & coordinated united front Only law enforcement can turn the tide You can make all the difference, We’re counting on you