In a scenario in which the continuous technological evolution influences every action of our daily life, the effort of the Postal and Communications Police in the year 2019 was constantly directed to the prevention and contrast of cybercrime in general, with particular reference to the crimes of the main competence of this specialty.
The frenetic pace of technological innovations and new means of communication, following the spread of the Internet on a large scale and, in particular, the progressive spread of smartphones and tablets among minors, are just some of the elements that facilitate forms of aggression on the net towards childhood and adolescence, consequently resulting in a significant increase not only in crimes involving minors online, such as child pornography and cyberbullying, but also in the spread of other forms of aggression against them, such as self-harming conduct, so-called challenges (e.g. Blue Whale, Binge Drinking), etc.
Considering that one of the aspects of the web that characterize these phenomena, as well as all virtual communities, is the absence of borders and, therefore, supranationality, which implies the presence of users who connect from abroad with servers certified in other countries , the international cooperation activity, established over the years by the National Center for the Contrast to Childcare Online (CNCPO) through EUROPOL and INTERPOL, both with EU and non-European countries, is of absolute importance, as it allows an exchange investigative info, as well as sharing new investigation techniques and good practices in the matter.
In this context, the role played by the Postal and Communications Police is particularly important, particularly in the context of crimes relating to the sexual exploitation of minors online. 650 people were investigated in the current year.
The investigations relating to the phenomenon of online solicitation of minors, on the other hand, made it possible to investigate 180 subjects.
Among the aforementioned judicial police activities, 8 particularly significant operations were carried out, conducted by the territorial offices of the Specialty and coordinated by the Center, some of which were carried out in undercover online mode and resulted from reports received in the context of the cooperation activity international process carried out by the CNCPO which, together, allowed to investigate 151 subjects in a state of freedom.
A particularly insidious phenomenon that has made a breakthrough between young and very young is represented by stickers, a phenomenon in growing diffusion, which consists in sharing, on instant messaging platforms, free digital stickers, with offensive, violent, discriminatory, anti-Semitic content, as well as child pornography .
The instant messaging platforms offered users the possibility to use, alongside emojis (pictographic symbols, similar to emoticons and used in SMS, e-mails, as well as in social networks), packages of stickers made available by instant messaging systems which offer the possibility of creating personalized and modified ones from real photographs, through various free "Applications", available for IOS and Android.
In recent times, this type of service is receiving the consent of preadolescent and adolescent users, who, however, often make an improper use of it, spreading digital stickers with illicit content (child pornography, xenophobes, discriminators, etc.) and exposing themselves to responsibility penalties relating to the dissemination and dissemination of child pornography.
Currently, 7 cases of stickers treated by this Specialty have been detected, which ended with as many minors investigated for the dissemination and possession of child pornography.
In addition, among the most significant investigations initiated directly by the Center in the context of the crimes of sexual exploitation of minors, a complex operation, carried out in undercover mode online in the Dark Net, which allowed to arrest an 60 year old for detention of sexual exploitation material of minors, aggravated by the huge quantity, by the use of anonymization and encryption means, as well as by the particular violence of some images found, depicting sexual abuse of minors even at a very young age. The man was of particular interest, also at an international level, for the roles of administrator and moderator that over time he held in virtual pedophile communities.
In short
In a world where constant technological evolution impacts every aspect of our daily lives, the efforts of the Postal and Communications Police in 2019 were consistently focused…
- The frenetic pace of technological innovation and new means of communication, resulting from the widespread diffusion of the Internet…
- challenges (e.g. Blue Whale, Binge Drinking), etc.
- Considering that one of the web's defining characteristics, as well as all virtual communities, is the absence of…
Key questions
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In a world where constant technological evolution impacts every aspect of our daily lives, the efforts of the Postal and Communications Police in 2019…
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The frenetic pace of technological innovation and new means of communication, resulting from the widespread diffusion of the Internet…
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challenges (e.g. Blue Whale, Binge Drinking), etc.
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