The Internet has broken down barriers to communicate the world over. Information can be searched as fast as you can say “Google it.” It has surpassed the library, books, television, mobile phone and radio as the number one source of Information. However, these advantages of the Internet have also made it easier to exploit children.

The anonymity and the ease of access has made it easier for sexual offenders and pedophiles to use deception and sometimes manipulation over the Internet, by befriending potential and unsuspecting children and teenagers, and luring them into dirty, sinful acts. Because of this, the exact statistics on child porn in the Internet market is either underreported or not known.

Users can hide behind a firewall, and use multiple accounts to conceal their true identity. As such, recent reports about arrests on child pornography have been quite shocking, considering that the suspects involved come from various backgrounds. For example, a priest from Canada and a college dean from California have been arrested after authorities discovered images of child porn from their computer hard drive. Not only that, but numerous arrests have also been made on clients and customers of child pornography and child abuse. These perverts are willing to pay large amounts of money just to watch web cam videos of children displaying themselves as sex objects, or of children being physically assaulted. It is also appalling that these patrons of child porn have their own families, and their own children, and they are also respected members of their own communities.

On November 17, the lawmakers in the Philippines recently signed and passed the Anti-Pornography Act, also known as Republic Act (RA) 9775. The new law will penalize anyone who takes on the act of using children, employing them and forcing them to engage or perform in sexual activities. This includes manufacturing, production and distribution, and marketing and promotion of child pornographic materials in any format, be it visual, written, digital, or optical.

The same can also be said for web hosting sites, and internet service providers. Like Cambodia and Thailand, the Philippines has been one of the number one countries known for the illegal human trafficking, especially women and children. The government has done so little to stop this abuse on basic human rights. With the passing of RA 9775, it is hoped that stricter laws and regulations will be implemented to protect the Filipinos from being victims of their own circumstances.