Court orders 31 pedophile websites be blocked

The Tel Aviv District Court has ordered the blocking of 31 websites with pedophile material from Israeli citizens in a precedent-setting decision.

The websites impacted by Monday’s ruling are on the open Internet, as opposed to the darknet. They could be accessed by anyone locally or worldwide with an Internet connection, and were tracked down by the Justice Ministry’s Cyber Division along with Interpol.

A statement from the Justice Ministry said that blocking the websites was part of implementing the goals of last September’s legislation designed to protect children against certain negative impacts from the Internet.

Under the law, the ministry can request that the court block Israeli citizens’ access to certain websites or remove them from their search results.

Further, the ministry said that it had presented the court with evidence that the websites were hosting “extreme and terrifying pedophile content with recordings of fully exposed sexual relations between minors.”

The several government agencies involved are also, where possible, acting to bring criminal charges against those managing websites with pedophile material.

The prosecution, often in cooperation with INTERPOL and foreign police, has filed dozens of indictments over the last year against those possessing and publicizing pedophile material.

However, the ministry said that when website managers use clever tactics to obscure their identities, blocking those sites for Israeli citizens is another way to reduce their negative impact.

Cyber Division Director Dr. Haim Vismonsky said that law enforcement must continue to use legal tools to prevent pedophile content from reaching Israeli computers.