Conservative want higher sentences for failure to decrypt child pornography

[Roland Perry]

In message <f420YmQ9qKi9EANV@highwayman.com>, Richard Clayton
<richard@highwayman.com> writes (of the Conservative Party)

>Our proposal
>    is that the sentence for failure to provide the key where the
>    encrypted information is seized under the Child Protection Act
>    should match that which the accused would receive if the anticipated
>    evidence were revealed.

The logical error here is plain to see. If you know the person has
prohibited material, you can demonstrate that to the court and achieve a
conviction. If you think you know it, but have no evidence (because it's
encrypted) then you will have difficulty proving to the court that it's
a CPA offence in the first place.

>*   they want the paedophile "register" to be centralised and made
>    available online -- given the public sector's record on such
>    projects that should stop it working altogether :-(

After the riots in ?Portsmouth, no Govt will introduce a public
register. Surely the much maligned CRB system in Liverpool is already
online to those who need it.

>*   they not only want an anti-grooming criminal law (hard to write
>    without creating a thought-crime) but also a civil anti-grooming
>    injunction.

Both of which the Govt will introduce anyway.

("Proposals will be published in the Autumn and legislation will be
brought forward when Parliamentary time allows") [private note of 3rd
July].

("The Task Force has also developed proposals for a criminal offence to
tackle the "grooming" of children by paedophiles online or offline. This
is intended to allow prosecution at an early stage when children are
being groomed, before an existing sexual offence has been committed. In
addition, the proposals include the creation of a new civil protection
order relating to behaviour towards a child for an illegal or harmful
sexual purpose.")

[PQ 16th Jul 2002 Column 231W] (And I see LINX gets a mention later...)

<url:http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/cm020716/
text/20716w27.htm#20716w27.html_sbhd3>

-- 
             Roland Perry | tel: +44 20 7645 3505 | roland@linx.org
Director of Public Policy | fax: +44 20 7645 3529 | http://www.linx.net
 London Internet Exchange | mbl: +44 7909 68 0005 |       /contact/roland