White IT
Encyclopedia
White IT is an initiative with the objective to identify adequate actions against child pornography
in the internet
. In the context of this initiative, the delegates of victim's associations, internet companies, the IT industry and medical associations are co-operating on the base of a Memorandum of Understanding
. The name White IT was chosen analogously to Green IT. So far it is only active in Germany, yet the long term scope is international.
, home secretary of the German state of Lower Saxony
initiated the initiative that was founded November 27, 2009 in Berlin. The objective is to develop concepts in an open minded and holistic approach that are
These aspects are to be cross-checked continuously.
An academic study on the means of proliferation of child pornography in the internet is the initial point to start a discussion basing on facts and to develop specific counter measures. The study was realised by Bernd-Dieter Meier, professor at the Kriminalwissenschaftliches Institut (Institute for Criminology
) at the University of Hanover. The study bases on the analysis of court records in Lower Saxony.
in Hanover.
The study itself war presented Mai 2nd 2011 in Berlin. The major results are:
This study is the first empirical academic analysis of the proliferation of child pornography. In the base of these results counteractive measures are under development.
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
in the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. In the context of this initiative, the delegates of victim's associations, internet companies, the IT industry and medical associations are co-operating on the base of a Memorandum of Understanding
Memorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...
. The name White IT was chosen analogously to Green IT. So far it is only active in Germany, yet the long term scope is international.
Objectives and methods
Uwe SchünemannUwe Schünemann
Uwe Schuenemann is a German politician and interior minister of the German state of the federation Lower Saxony...
, home secretary of the German state of Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
initiated the initiative that was founded November 27, 2009 in Berlin. The objective is to develop concepts in an open minded and holistic approach that are
- eligible from the medical and the victim's point of view
- socially accepted
- technically feasible
- legally possible
These aspects are to be cross-checked continuously.
An academic study on the means of proliferation of child pornography in the internet is the initial point to start a discussion basing on facts and to develop specific counter measures. The study was realised by Bernd-Dieter Meier, professor at the Kriminalwissenschaftliches Institut (Institute for Criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
) at the University of Hanover. The study bases on the analysis of court records in Lower Saxony.
Study on Proliferation
The first results of the study were presented November 24 and 25 2010 at a symposiumAcademic conference
An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
in Hanover.
The study itself war presented Mai 2nd 2011 in Berlin. The major results are:
- Only in a minority of cases the provisioning or proliferation had monetary aspects. These were predominantly "rookies", who paid for criminal contents that are available for free in the internet. Yet the respective websites were often also bogus or dispreading malwareMalwareMalware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
. - Most of the culprits acquired or distributed child pornography not in the World Wide WebWorld Wide WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, but in peer-to-peer-networksPeer-to-peerPeer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
or other closed user groups. They were motivated by bragging and mutual exchange among like-minded - A significant majority of cases were disclosed by police investigation, not by criminal complaints
- The use of undercover police officers is limited by the practice in the milieu that newcomers have to contribute child pornography themselves before being accepted in these circles.
- All cases that came to court were most severe offences (level seven until nine on the COPINE scaleCopine scaleThe Copine Scale is a rating system created in Ireland and used in the United Kingdom to categorise the severity of child pornography. The scale was developed by staff at the COPINE project...
. Only explicit evidence let to indictments, yet almost all indictments let to a conviction.
This study is the first empirical academic analysis of the proliferation of child pornography. In the base of these results counteractive measures are under development.