Mueller: 'We're Losing' the Child Porn War

WASHINGTON, April 23, 2008— -- U.S. law enforcement is losing the battle to combat child pornography and child exploitation on the Internet, FBI Director Robert Mueller said today during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.

"We're losing," Mueller said bluntly when asked about the issues of computer crime and child pornography on the Web by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz.

"It is growing on the Internet, exponentially is probably too strong a term, but just about every crime there is has gravitated to the Internet, and in certain cases, the Internet has provided the vehicle for expansion that otherwise would not be there, and that's certainly true with child pornography," Mueller told Franks and the rest of the committee.

Due to the growing use of the Internet, digital photography and encryption software, the problem has become more pervasive in recent years.

The FBI and Justice Department have held meetings with major Internet service providers (ISPs) such as AOL to look at the feasibility of expanding data retention to go after child pornographers and those who provide the images on the Internet.

"I do believe that records retention would be of assistance in terms of addressing these problems," Mueller said when he was asked if legislation requiring additional record retention by ISPs would be useful. "But it's not just one agency, it's a number of federal agencies, state and local law enforcement, all to be integrated in addressing what is an increasing problem."

Privacy groups such as the Center for Democracy and Technology have addressed concerns about privacy, security, cost and the effectiveness of retaining Internet records for longer periods of time.

"It's important that we have access to the records, and records retention by ISPs would be tremendously helpful in giving us the historical basis to make a case in a number of these child predators who utilize the Internet to either push their pornography or to lure persons in order to meet them," Mueller said.