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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 364
EAN num: 9780738211718
ISBN number: 0738211710
Label: Da Capo Press
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 336
Printing Date: March 31, 2008
Publishing house: Da Capo Press
Sale Popularity Level: 1365266
Studio: Da Capo Press
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Product Description:
From an award-winning investigative reporter, the true story behind the heroes who are out to stop the horrifying Internet child-predator epidemic.
Delving into the shocking netherworld of child pornography, Julian Sher tells the dramatic story of police officers, prosecutors, and high-tech analysts worldwide who, using undercover work and computer forensics, are combatting child abuse on the Internet and fighting to protect these young victims.
Granted extraordinary behind-the-scenes access, Sher takes us from FBI headquarters and the Department of Homeland Security's Cyber-Crime center to Microsoft and AOL headquarters, where efforts are underway to make the Web safer for children. Drawing on candid court confessions, interviews, and accounts of daring rescues, Sher describes the victories as well as the scars left on the victims, and the investigators who dedicate their lives to finding them. Caught in the Web is a harrowing and important exploration of the unexpected effects of the Internet.
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Rated by buyers -
This is an important text as it is designed for the lay-reader with an interest in the online circulation of images of child exploitation. It gives some details of how various law enforcement agencies apprehend the perpetrators of these crimes.
Sher is a competent researcher and writer but I find a few things a bit displeasing. I sometimes feel as though the way in which he creates a narrative out of the facts and the language used to border a little on sensationalism. It feels akin to a thriller/spy novel in parts. I don't feel as though it's necessary to bolster this topic in such a way. I'm aware that Sher is wanting to generate a "public outcry" and so it's not unintentional that the text sometimes reads this way. I don't find it helpful though as I find that it glamorizes the work of law enforcement agents and even to an extent online paedophiles. Whilst the people who do this work deserve respect, I think more care should be taken not to make the police appear smug because I'm not sure that they should be feeling smug about the way they've managed this problem.
Sher has listed the Australian arm of the Landslide related bust as 'Operation Ascent' (p.306) but I'm fairly sure it's actually 'Operation Auxin'. He listed it correctly as Auxin in other parts of the book but for some reason there's an error there. If I'm wrong about that then I'll happily retract.
I also have to criticize Sher for repeating so much of the rhetoric that promotes the relationship between the online circulation of child pornography and capitalism. Whilst there is a grey market of child pornography, I think that even the cases mentioned in this text demonstrate that the task of curbing the sexual exploitation is not really similar to curbing the abuse/sale of prohibited substances like drugs and I don't think Sher should let people who make such analogies pass without comment. I acknowledge the importance of drawing public attention to credit card companies and crime but I think there's a lot of silly statements in that chapter in particular. I think it has the potential to mislead readers about which issues are most pertinent in attempting to control this problem.
If you've read this book and found it interesting then I recommend 'Beyond Tolerance: Child Pornography on the Internet' by Philip Jenkins. It's slightly more academic but still very accessible text. It focuses on one site of exchange in particular, so it doesn't have the scope of Sher's writing but it offers a lot more analysis of the problem and I think it answers some of the questions or at least helps us think about possible answers for some of the questions that Sher begs.
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