We can all agree, that on some level, there are many instances where we find that social media platforms, websites, and government agencies condone and/or ignore reports of CP and CSE on the Internet. Not all of them are nefarious, reports are taken seriously, and children DO get recovered and rescued, so it's important that we report child exploitation no matter what. Above all, It's the law to report if you encounter illegal images/links of children on the internet.
When CP or CSE is found on a platform by admins, it is hidden/deleted and reported to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. If you see it anywhere online, you all should be doing the same. Please do not go looking for child exploitation on the internet in hopes to start your own investigation, you could unintentionally visit a honeypot or could potentially get caught up with law enforcement confiscating your computer. Not only will you be charged for saved links and images, but your search history can also incriminate you if you have visited webpages that contain CP and/or CSE.
As for posting links or images for research purposes, never post a direct link or image of illegal content. We want to explore these networks, follow the money, and bring them down by exposing criminal activity, but we also need to follow the law and do everything we can to save children... purposely not reporting child abuse or sexual exploitation because you want to investigate it on your own is selfish, dangerous, and illegal. Don't be a vigilante, you are not saving children by doing this. 9/10 times, the sites remain up anyway even after reporting! So protect yourself and victims, just report. The more valuable information is to be found on the back-end like website owners, IP addresses, connections with other networks, etc... posting CP does nothing but hurt the research community and puts your freedom and your viewers at risk.
Use http://archive.is or https://archive.org/web/ for posterity
There is CP and CSE all over the internet even on Twitter and Facebook. Linking to a website is common and encouraged here, but sharing a direct link to illegal content is against the law and also against most platform's TOS. If you want to share information about a website that is extremely suspect, potentially dangerous, or its sole purpose is to share content that is deemed illegal (not a direct link to illegal content), include a link from scamadvisor.com or whois.com like this. Not directly linking to the compromising content assures your protection and the responsibility does not lie on you or the platform.
For more in depth information on internet child exploitation laws, please visit Department of Justice Citizens Guide to Child Pornography Laws
List of Websites to Report CP and CSE on the Internet:
INTERPOL/INHOPE (select country and report) http://www.inhope.org/gns/report-here.aspx
Your local police. If the child is in your immediate area or you know where they are CALL POLICE FIRST.
Do not save links or images, you will incriminate yourself and be no help to anyone!
GOOD LUCK AND BE SAFE ♡
"YOU FORGOT THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP SO I TYPED IT IN ALL CAPS SO NO ONE MISSES THIS. USE A VPN THEN CHAIN ANOTHER VPN AND USE TOR ON TAILS CAUSE CP IS BAD NEWS BEARS MMMMKAY?"
** ♡AK. :D**
