ASACP Sees Rise in CP Reports, Assists in Investigations

LOS ANGELES—The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) had an exceptionally busy month in October, coping with an upsurge in reports of suspected child pornography (CP) being received through its CP Reporting Hotline. According to initial figures, ASACP’s CP Reporting Hotline processed 5,826 raw reports of suspected child pornography in October, forwarding 928 unique reports to international law enforcement authorities and other entities for further investigation. Since 2003, ASACP’s CP Reporting Hotline and related data collection and analysis program has played an important role in protecting children and businesses—having processed more than 620,000 reports of suspected child pornography and forwarding nearly 95,000 confirmed “Red Flag” incidents to relevant authorities. ASACP staff, including Executive Director Tim Henning, also participated in 10 separate special investigations, both domestically and abroad, during October. “Many people outside of the organization do not realize just how much daily activity happens behind the scenes at ASACP,” Henning stated. “ASACP is frequently called upon to assist its members and sponsors, the mainstream community and public and government organizations, as well as judicial representatives and law enforcement authorities, on an international level. “Due to the nature of the work the hotline accomplishes, it is usually not possible for ASACP to make public any details surrounding the reports, investigations or assistance it provides,” Henning added. “This situation makes it hard for the association to illustrate its ongoing value since we are not allowed to reveal the pivotal role we play, or the actual results we obtain.” Because online CP distribution trends are constantly changing, ASACP will continue its vital mission of informing and educating stakeholders, with plans to periodically release updates to its first white paper, “ASACP Hotline Report: Online Child Pornography Data and Analysis,” with a 2012 update planned. “Since 1996, ASACP has been helping companies around the world to protect children and to protect their businesses,” Henning concluded. “Our evolving Best Practices, Code of Ethics, CP Reporting Hotline and Restricted To Adults (RTA) website label all play vitally important roles in this regard.” For more information, email tim@asacp.org.