Laws regarding child pornography

The legality of child pornography is explicitly addressed in 94 of the 187 Interpol member states as of 2008, according to research performed by the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) Koons Family Institute on International Law and Policy. Of those 94 countries, 58 criminalized possession of child pornography regardless of intent to distribute. This figure does not count legislation outlawing all pornography; figures that also include non-specific bans on all pornography would therefore be higher if available.

Convictions for possessing child pornography also usually include prison sentences, but those sentences are often converted to probation for first-time offenders. Some nations such as Canada and Australia have laws banning cartoon, manga or written child pornography and others require ISPs (Internet service providers) to monitor internet traffic to detect it.

The United Nations Optional Protocol on the Rights of the Child requires states to outlaw the "producing, distributing, disseminating, importing, exporting, offering, selling or possessing for the above purposes" of child pornography. The Council of Europe's Cybercrime Convention, the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, and the EU Framework Decision that became active in 2006 require signatory or member states to criminalize all aspects of child pornography. Article 34 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) stated that all signatories shall take appropriate measures to prevent the exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials.

International obligations to pass specific laws against child pornography "punishable by appropriate penalties that take into account their grave nature" as well as enable extradition, mutual assistance in investigation, and seizure of property were mandated by the .

Some of the negotiations and reviews of the process took place at the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children held in 1996 and 2001.

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