The FBI is currently targeting online “traders” of child pornography. Photographs or images are traded among individuals who frequent chat rooms or newsgroups where child pornography can be found.
The penalties for getting involved in trading child pornography online vary depending on whether the individual has a prior criminal record, the amount traded, and whether the individual was actively trading. More and more, first time offenders are going to jail and repeat offenders are receiving as much as ten years in prison.
If you come across what appears to be child pornography on the Internet, even accidentally, do not download such an image to your hard drive, disk, or printer. It you do so you are breaking the law.
The FBI has primary jurisdiction for investigating child pornography on the Internet. The FBI has a very aggressive, ongoing program known as “Innocent Images,” which targets online child pornographers.
Child pornography is the depiction of a child under the age of eighteen engaged in sexually explicit behavior.