Sex, Kids, and Crime in Cyberspace: Some Reflections on Crossing Boundaries

Abstract

This contribution sketches some contours of the landscape of sex, minors, and crime in cyberspace, illustrated by a varied casuistry of case-law emerging in the Netherlands. It discusses exposure to indecency, self-representation, viewing child porn online, grooming, and webcam sex abuse. It also highlights four types of boundaries - of nations, age, consent, and decency - in this landscape, that pose challenges to regulators, because in cyberspace, borders have a tendency to shift and blur. This implies that a debate is needed on the regulatory tilt of cybersex policy, which needs to take into account the co-evolution of technology, society, and regulation, and the need for empirical research and theoretical reflection.

Keywords: minors, sex crimes, webcam, Internet, cybersex, criminalisation

JEL Classification: K14, K42