The New Face of Child Pornography: Digital Imaging Technology and the Law
![handle is hein.journals/jltp2008 and id is 179 raw text is: THE NEW FACE OF CHILD
PORNOGRAPHY: DIGITAL IMAGING
TECHNOLOGY AND THE LAW
Gray Mateo*
I. INTRODUCTION
Child pornography is not just an aberrant form of free expression, it is
a criminal tool, used to seduce and manipulate child victims, break
down a child's inhibitions, and make sex between adults and children
appear normal. Just as we charge drug dealers with the possession of
drug paraphernalia and would-be burglars with the possession of
burglary tools, so must we have the ability to limit the use of child
pornography, a clear, unambiguous molestation tool for pedophiles
and child molesters.1
Ernest E. Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children issued this statement during the 2002 Hearing before
the Congressional Committee on the Judiciary (2002 Hearing).2 Numerous
government agents, law enforcement personnel, prosecutors and activists alike
have echoed the same concerns.3
The debate over the constitutional protection of pornographic material in
general, and child pornography in particular, has been traditionally framed
against 'the backdrop of morality, obscenity, and pedophilic criminality.
Nevertheless, Mr. Allen's statements hint at a subtle change of perspective.
Today, the issue of child pornography is justly fraught with complicated
analyses striving to make sense of the fogginess created by ever-changing
technological advances. Most recently, technological advances have
successfully blurred the line between real and virtual children.
Congress and the Supreme Court have engaged in an intimate dance of
. J.D., University of Illinois College of Law, 2008; B.S., cur laude, Psychology, Speech
Communications, and Gender and Women Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005.
1. Enhancing Child Protection Laws After the April 16, 2002 Supreme Court Decision, Ashcroft v.
Free Speech Coalition: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the H.
Comm. on the Judiciary, 107th Cong. 17 (2002) [hereinafter 2002 Hearing] (statement of Ernest E. Allen,
President and CEO of the Nat'l Center for Missing and Exploited Children).
2. Id.
3. See generally id. (discussing concerns relating to child pornography).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jltp2008&div=9&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The New Face of Child Pornography: Digital Imaging Technology and the Law
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