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The Dangers of Peer-to-Peer Networks

 

by Daniel L. Weiss

In 2003, the United States General Accounting Office discovered rampant pornography and child exploitation on peer-to-peer networks.

Computer file-sharing programs, also known as peer-to-peer networks (P2P),1 became widely utilized after Napster’s 1999 marketplace debut. A little more than a year after its launch, Napster boasted more than 26 million users.2 By 2003, there were more than 130 different P2P applications,3 one of which had been downloaded more than 200 million times.4

Originally designed to facilitate the sharing of MP3 music files, P2P networks quickly developed into major pornography distributors. According to a 2001 U.S. House Committee on Government Reform report, six of the top 10 keyword searches during one day on Gnutella networks were for pornography and more than 70 percent of the search results for a Britney Spears video were pornographic.5

 

Exposure to Pornography on P2P Networks
In 2003, the United States General Accounting Office (GAO), in conjunction with the Customs CyberSmuggling Center (CCC), conducted a more detailed study of P2P programs and discovered rampant pornography and child exploitation.

Pornographic Files
The GAO analyzed 1,286 titles and file names returned from 12 keyword searches associated with child pornography.6

  • 42 percent indicated possible child pornography7
  • 34 percent were adult pornography
  • 24 percent were non-pornographic

Pornographic Images
The CCC further analyzed 341 downloaded images.8

  • 44 percent contained child pornography
  • 29 percent contained adult pornography
  • 13 percent contained child erotica9
  • 14 percent were non-pornographic

Exposing Children to Pornography
The CCC also investigated files returned from innocuous searches routinely conducted by children. Of 177 images found using search terms “Britney Spears,” “Pokemon,” and “Olsen Twins,”10

  • 34 percent contained adult pornography
  • 14 percent contained cartoon pornography
  • 7 percent contained child erotica
  • 1 percent contained child pornography
  • 44 percent were considered to be non-pornographic

 

Seeking Pornography on P2P Networks
Also in 2003, Internet security company Palisades Systems monitored a popular file-sharing service to determine how people used the system. During the three-week study period, Palisades monitored 22 million searches and randomly selected 400,000 for detailed analysis. The most commonly sought material was pornographic, with 42 percent of all searches for adult (35 percent) or child (6 percent) pornography.11

Pornographic Video
The greatest number of P2P searches were for video files.12

  • 63 percent of all searches were for pornography
  • 10 percent of all searches were for child pornography
  • 27 percent of searches were for copyrighted material

Pornographic Images
Image searches accounted for only 7 percent of all searches, but were nearly universally pornographic.13

  • 75 percent of all searches were for pornography
  • 24 percent of all searches were for child pornography
  • Less than 1 percent of all searches were for non-pornographic files

Recommendations for Protecting Children
Most Internet filters are not configured for P2P applications, meaning children using them will not be protected from exposure to harmful images. Considering the two primary uses for P2P networks are downloading copyrighted materials and viewing pornography, many parents may prohibit their children from using these applications under any circumstances.

Most important, parents must learn the mechanics and dangers of the technologies their children use and be intentional in communicating their expectations and concern for their children’s well-being. The best way to keep children away from harmful material online is to provide a loving, stable and cautious home.

More Information

View the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform Report

View the GAO Report

1 Palisades Systems defines file-sharing networks as follows: “P2P networks are made up of individual machines running similar software that communicate directly over the Internet. A machine that connects to this network is not only connecting to one other machine, but to a web of connected machines that are linked to each other by one common thread—the P2P application. Once connected, the P2P application allows information to be exchanged freely among the participants.”
2 “Napster” Wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napster (28 June 2005).
3 Robyn Greenspan, “P2P=Porn2Peer?” CyberAtlas, 26 March 2003, http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/
applications/print/0,,1301_2170451,00.html (27 March 2003).
4 Jonathan Krim, “Pornography Prevalent on File-Sharing Services,” The Washington Post, 13 march 2003, p. E01.
5 Minority Staff, Children’s Access to Pornography Through Internet File-Sharing Programs, Special Investigations Division, Committee on Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, 27 July 2001, p. ii, http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/Documents/
20040817153928-98690.pdf (28 June 2005).
6 File Sharing Programs: Peer-to-Peer Networks Provide Ready Access to Child Pornography (GAO-03-351), United States General Accounting Office, February 2003, pp. 11-12, http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03351.pdf (28 June 2005).
7 The GAO report “categorized a file as child pornography if one keyword indicating a minor and one word with a sexual connotation occurred in either the title or file name. Files with sexual connotation in title or name but without age indicators were classified as adult pornography.”
8 File Sharing Programs, pp. 12-13.
9The GAO report defines child erotica as “erotic images of children that do not depict sexually explicit conduct.”
10 File Sharing Programs, pp. 14-15.
11 Porn Tops File Sharing Usage, Palisade Systems, 20 March 2003, p. 1, http://www.palisadesys.com/news&events/p2pstudy.pdf, (28 June 2005).
12 Porn Tops File Sharing Usage, pp. 4-5
13 Porn Tops File Sharing Usage, p. 5

Daniel Weiss is the senior analyst for media and sexuality for Focus on the Family.


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