Image Analysis

Secure Internet: It's more than just for kids

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

It is a good thing that pictures speak louder than words because the text pales in comparison of the effects the other aspects of the PSA have on the PSA. Besides a minor loss in translation between Brazilian Portuguese and English, the design format of the text makes it inconvenient for viewers. The easiest line to read is "On internet, some things are not what they seem to be," since it is in the biggest font out of all the line and is in bold white letters on a nearly black background. The lines "Be aware and enjoy the web at its best. Know how to surf safe," are in a tiny black print on a light blue and white rectangle, making it hard to read. All the lines are in the bottom right-hand corner away from all the action and the other elements of the PSA. Though these lines are a reminder to be safe online and beware of suspicious users, the design of the text makes it the least effective aspects of this PSA.

In Terms of Reality

Besides being a representation of a sexual predator at work, Internet Segura: Date shows it is as easy for a predator to sneak their way into the life of any adult as it is for them to sneak into the life a child. Though this is only an imaginary scenario, this situation is true for many.

In many ways, the process a sexual predator of gaining entry to a person and the predator's goal are fairly similar for younger and older victims, except for the initial connection. In the 1990s, over twenty years after the internet was created, the first dating websites were created for adults to meet potential partners unlike social media sites (which was created in the same decade) that are made for anyone to find and communicate with friends. In her research for her article The Dangers of Online Dating, Brittney Mayer found out that "one in 10 sex offenders is on a dating site to meet new people — while 25% of rapists use online dating to find their victims," making dating sites very dangers for people who don't know what they are looking (Mayer). Beyond just the staggering statistics of user misconduct, this misconduct, as Mayer discovered, leads to "around 16,000 abductions, 100 murders, and thousands of rapes each year," which relatively means there are about 44 abductions a day, about 2 murders a week, and too many rapes due to the misuse of online dating sites by one group of people and to the unsafe use of another group (Mayer). Just looking at this single avenue of communication proves how dangerous online can be for people of all ages.

Reality vs. the Law

There is one major problem when it comes to laws and sexual predators: these laws have to balance between trying to protect the public and future victims and protect the constitutional rights given to every American even if they are a predator.

Firstly, the legal definition of an online sexual predator, as stated by the lawyers of HG.org Legal Resource, is a person who has used the internet to elicit provocative photos or videos from a single victim or multiple, have possession of illegal provocative photos or videos, and/or have distributed illegal provocative photos or videos (Sex). However, after the definition, things become more complicated.

The first obstacle comes when tracking down online sexual predators. Though, as seen in Tracy McCoy's Newsweek Global article The Sexual Predator App with a 100 Percent Conviction Rate: A Killer App Stalks Online Sexual Predators, there are many apps, like RADAR and STOPit, that the authorities can use to track predators and record their messages, the authorities have to have probable cause to get a court order to uses these app since they violate a person's privacy protected under the fourth amendment (McCoy). In cases of crimes like these, the target has to give the authorities probable cause but many people, as seen in the PSA, don't know they are being targeted until it's too late and after becoming a victim, being labeled a victim can be enough to keep them away from the law. With the effect of conflicting laws, many online sexual predators are free to repeat their actions.

If the first hurdle is jumped, then comes another: what happens after they are released from prison. After release, as stated on HG.org Legal Resource, sexual predators have to register on the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) in most states and only have to provide the information the state requires if any (Sex). Restrigistry, however, is one of the only consequences predators face after jail. The strictest time after release, as reported in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, is when the convicted is under supervised releases, like probation and parole, where their internet use is supervised and slightly limited depending on the state there were arrested in (Binder).

After this supervised time, there is little the courts or the law can do since the predator is now a citizen again and any supervision or ban of computer use would be a violation of their constitutional rights. One for the only was the courts will completely ban online sexual predators from the internet and use of computers is if "the individual has been convicted not only of child pornography possession, but also has used the Internet to engage in direct exploitation of children," as claimed in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (Binder). In all, there isn't much the law can besides locking up convicted online sexual predators in prison for their allotted time after they've been accused and found guilty.

When All is Said and Done

It doesn't matter if you are a minor mystified by a mysterious friend on facebook or an adult enticed by the flattery of a possible partner safe searching and use of the internet and its products needs to be of the utmost priority. The internet is a fairly new thing, especially compares to other, and laws and regulations have yet to catch up with the criminals that us it.