Matthew Ebnet's essay, "Vigilantes Patrol Cyberspace," discusses the absence of laws governing cyberspace and the abuses that occur. Regular citizens, with no investigative or law enforcement training, have decided to patrol cyberspace and essentially make citizens' arrests. These computer users have been appalled by the audacity of child predators and want "to show the bad guys that there is a sheriff in town" (119). Cybermolesters will log on to the Internet and attempt to lure young girls and boys to a specified meeting place for sex; some will even send kiddie porn (119). Web pages have been created to crack down on those who take advantage of the Internet's anonymity. People like Donna Parker log on to look for pedophiles, add them to their buddy lists, and call the district attorney when the pedophiles make a connection, in an attempt to protect children (120). The reason given by Parker and other vigilantes is the same: "Who else is going to do it?" (120).
Ebnet's essay was written in 1997, when the law enforcement community was running to catch up with technology. There has been tremendous progress made since then: "The Cybermolesters Enforcement Act, similar to other bills already introduced in the House and Senate, sets five-year mandatory prison sentences for adults who use the Internet to target and lure minors for child molestation" (MacMillan). Members of the Judiciary Committee, who fear the act will give law enforcement too much power, oppose the act. Congress has realized the threat of criminal behavior on the Internet and is striving to clamp down on those who take advantage of the freedom of the Internet. There are federal agents whose sole objective is surfing the Internet for cybermolesters.
Don Daufenbach is a U.S. Customs agent who "patrols the dark side of cyberspace" (A&E). He uses the Internet to track and arrest pedophiles who create, trade, and traffic illegal child pornography. Pedophiles and other perverts actually communicate in the "Undernet," the Internet's evil twin. Daufenbach has led several investigations that ended in the arrest of dozens of these criminals. His success is quite an achievement because the pedophile chatrooms do not welcome strangers and the inhabitants, who use aliases, are highly suspicious (A&E).
The ACLU was briefly mentioned in one article. While reading various essays and articles, I anticipated at least one quote from an attorney or activist regarding freedom of speech or entrapment. I waited for one voice to claim that the rights of a pedophile were being violated by law enforcement officials, but thankfully that voice was silent. I do not think it is possible for Americans to be as free as they would like to be and as protected as they feel they deserve to be simultaneously.
Ebnet, Matthew. "Vigilantes Patrol Cyberspace." CyberReader. 2nd ed. Ed. Victor J. Vitanza. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1999. 119-121.
Faulkner, Nancy. "Prevent Abuse Now." 11 April 1998. A&E Documentary. 11 September 2001. <http://www.prevent-abuse-now.com/document.htm>.
MacMillan, Robert. Newsbytes. 8 August 2001. 10 September 2001. <http://www.infowar.com>.
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