Nearly 5,000 reports of child pornography in 2015

Last year the police received 4,908 reports regarding the discovery of child pornography, more than double than the 2,240 reports received in 2014, according to a report the Public Prosecutor and Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice sent to Parliament on Tuesday, ANP reports. The total number of child pornography investigations and interventions last year amounted to 842, much more than the 600 target set by the government. The increase can mainly be attributed to United States rules that force internet companies to report illegal material. That means that each new internet service on the market makes for more reports. Van der Steur expects that this trend will continue and that even more reports will be received this year. Van der Steur wants to further strengthen the approach to child pornography and child sex tourism in the coming years, partly because it is becoming increasingly difficult for the police to track suspects through their IP addresses. Suspects make use of the internet over open WiFi hotspots, their phones and laptops. Which means that new detection methods are necessary.