Experts weigh in on monitoring initiative
KUALA LUMPUR: The initiative by the police to use a special monitoring software to curb child pornography has received responses from industry experts and academicians.
DiGi’s head of sustainability, Philip Ling, said the rapid development of the Internet brought about the misuse of technology, especially when used for sexual exploitation and bringing harm to children.
“Children are the most precious and vulnerable members of society. They deserve protection from all layers of society, as sexual exploitation of children is unacceptable, regardless of its form.”
He said Malaysia was heading in the right direction in this matter, as authorities improve efforts to curb the dissemination of child sexual abuse material by improving legal frameworks and mechanisms.
He lauded authorities for working with global law authorities, as online child sexual exploitation, being virtual, travelled beyond the border of any country.
While the initiative might create concerns about privacy and encroaching issues, Ling said the human rights of a child was paramount.
“Just as we think about people’s privacy, we should not forget that all children have the right to be safe.
“The dignity of every child should be protected.” On Monday, the New Straits Times
front-paged an exclusive report about the newly-launched Malaysia Internet Crime Against Children Investigation Unit (Micac), which would monitor traffic at pornographic websites, especially those offering child pornography.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities lecturer Associate Professor Dr Jamaluddin Aziz said the initiative to monitor and track child porn for viewers and disseminators was crucial, but should be viewed with caution.
“Fundamental questions about policy, laws, operation and basic human rights must be asked and unpacked to its minute details.”
He said the software to monitor child pornography must be part of a global network, as the crime might be committed elsewhere and consumed somewhere else.
“We need to stop moralising child pornography, and call it a crime as it is a crime. We need to be clear of the difference between pornography in general and child pornography.”
Creative consultant and IT expert Muhammad Adrian Wong said it was about time that the move was introduced.
“It needs to be done to track viewers, but a fine line exists between monitoring Netizens and specific viewers and disseminators. What is worrying is that most videos and pictures are (disseminated) via private groups and no longer streamed online.”
He said a monitoring software could be a good deterrent depending on where the software was installed, whether on the Internet service provider’s side or on a desktop or laptop.