Law to fight child porn on the Internet held up for three years

A proposed law which would make accessing child pornography on the Internet a crime in Hong Kong has been held up for three years - the victim of sensitivities over handing broad powers to the authorities.

Campaigners against child abuse insist that the need to protect children should outweigh concerns about the innocent being wrongly accused, but legislators fear open-ended definitions of what constitutes 'possession'.

In terms of the Internet, they also want a clear line between a 'passive recipient' and an 'active seeker'.

Suspects in Hong Kong who use their credit cards to access child porn should be considered 'active seekers', says the Frontier's Cyd Ho Sau-lan.

But, she added: 'For instance, if the bag-keeper at the Legislative Council takes a bag from a member of the public which contains a computer disk with child porn on it, would he be liable?

'Often, child porn is sent unsolicited on the Internet. If someone clicks on it or removes it, but it is later retrieved from the hard drive, would that person also be liable? We need to be clear.'

Against Child Abuse director Priscilla Lui Tsang Sun-kai said: 'This has been a tug-of-war over definitions, and all the time, children are being abused. This is an issue in Hong Kong whether we like it or not.'

Under the draft law on child pornography, people who commit sex offences against children overseas can be prosecuted in Hong Kong. Those selling or in possession of pornography depicting children under 16 would also face penalties.

Anyone who arranges or advertises for people to engage in sexual offences towards children under 16 would be liable to a $3 million fine and a 10-year jail term.

Advertisements sent through the Internet and other forms of electronic transmission to promote child-sex tourism would also be an offence.

People who procure or employ children for making child pornography could face a fine of $2 mil lion to $3 million and imprisonment for eight to 10 years.

The proposed law was unveiled in June 1999 but got its first reading only last year. Ms Lui says it fails to cover written material or stories detailing sexual acts on children and refers only to pictures or images.