Opinion: Policing the internet will take more than law

While forming new legislation can help in the fight against cyber crime, it's misguided to think law is the single most important factor here, says Brian White.

Plans by the Home Office to consult on new laws to make possession of violent pornographic images a crime highlights the dilemma lawmakers face in this interactive and globalised world.

Campaigners against pornographic sites have built up a lot of emotional support so it was no surprise that the automatic response of 289 MPs was to call for regulation and control of the internet.

But there was little appreciation of the practicalities of this - given most of the sites are on sites outside UK jurisdiction.

It may come as a shock to some but most of our politicians do not understand the internet or the limitations of one-country legislation.

There is still a knee jerk reaction, by the media and politicians, that every problem needs new legislation.

I have no doubt that this desire to be seen to do something will prevail - but the good thing this time is that by consulting and not rushing to legislate the government has recognised the limits of what can be achieved.

Campaigners point to child pornography and say the way police have carried out Operation Ore proves we can deal with it. So why not do the same with violent sites?

The difference is that for almost every jurisdiction child pornography is illegal, whereas the boundaries vary so much that many things we feel should lead to prosecution are perfectly legal in their country of origin. Also, in the US you very quickly run up against Constitutional issues of the right to free speech.

Getting the right legislative framework is important but it is only one aspect of any solution. With almost all new technology issues there is the question of operating in a global environment.

As the recent developments in tackling spam prove, getting international agreement between countries is important if law enforcement agencies are to stand any chance of tackling the perpetrators behind these sites.

And even with good international co-operation the authorities can only make limited progress if there is a lack of sufficient resources to take effective enforcement. Because most of the UK computer forensic activity is dedicated to tackling child pornography and terrorism, we still don't have enough people capable of carrying out the evidential work for other crimes.

Unless the government increases the numbers of computer forensic officers available to police forces in the UK, the new law will not be worth the paper it is printed on.

Some in the technology community argue the best way to tackle these problems is through better technology, and there is undoubtedly a need to develop tools to restrict this kind of material from being accessed.

But the biggest single weapon that governments can bring to bear is educating the public on how to use technology wisely.

Getting the government to act in a timely fashion is also a major concern. The current consultation goes on until 2 December and legislation is not likely until the back end of 2006.

And I have no doubt that when we get TV coverage on mobile phones the issues of how to deal with broadcasting regulation will surface again, as legislators seek to keep the controls that exist in place and campaigners call for new restrictions.

The government faces many challenges in ensuring there is a proper response to these issues - but unless we understand that legislation is only a small part of any solution we will be condemned to repeat the same mistakes.

Brian White is a business advisor and former MP for Milton Keynes North East. When an MP, he was treasurer of the Parliamentary ICT Committee and an officer of the All Party Internet Group.