G8 urges Internet crime crackdown

MILAN, Italy (Reuters) -- Ministers from leading industrialised nations have called for a global crackdown against crime and child pornography on the Internet.

The Group of Eight ministers said that while the Internet had brought many benefits, the rise of high-tech crime was causing worldwide concern.

"We urge that a solution be found to locate and identify criminals who use network communications for illegal purposes," a final statement after the G8 meeting in Milan declared.

"We stress in particular the alarming expansion of child sexual exploitation...online," the statement said.

Japanese parliamentarians say their country is among the largest markets for child pornography, with much Internet pornography being produced there.

The G8 ministers welcomed Japan's initiative to review its problem and to host the second World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, in Yokohama in December.

The ministers expressed support for the Lyon group of experts on transnational organised crime, set up by the G8 in 1996 to co-operate in the fight against high-tech crime.

They also urged the finalisation of a draft Council of Europe convention on cybercrime.

The Council has been working for more than a decade on the treaty, which U.S. civil liberties groups have criticised as infringing individual privacy.

The group called for a database to allow countries to pool resources on fighting Web-based crime, which has opened borders and opportunities for criminal groups.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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G8 Information Centre
2001 G8 Summit in Genoa
Internet Watch Foundation

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