Letter to John Ashcroft
September 9, 2003
The Honorable John Ashcroft
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Dear General Ashcroft,
I write today to urge you to establish a national task force to combat the increasingly prevalent problem of child pornography being shared over file-sharing networks. These file-sharing networks are incredibly popular; one such network, Kazaa, claims that its program has been downloaded over 270 million times. Although this software is well known as a tool for sharing music and video files, it can also be readily used to engage in other criminal behavior.
Earlier this summer, the District Attorney in Suffolk County, New York, filed criminal charges against 12 people for child pornography-related offenses as a result of sharing and downloading graphic images and video of children being abused in the most horrifying manner. This case demonstrates that effective law enforcement must keep pace with the new technology tools employed by criminals.
An important step in fighting the child pornographers who use this technology is the creation of a federal task force. A federal task force would bring together the resources and expertise of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal law enforcement agencies to find the best ways to track down and stop these criminals from peddling child pornography. In addition, information sharing between the federal task force and local officials, including District Attorney Tom Spota of Suffolk County, New York, who has successfully filed charges, will ensure that all levels of law enforcement are up to speed in this highly technical area.
Peer-to-peer networks are easy to use, readily accessible and decentralized making them attractive to child pornographers.
A federal task force will investigate the ways these networks are used and abused and provide the most innovative law enforcement solutions to protect our nation's children. I look forward to working with you on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Charles Schumer
US Senator