Yahoo and Other Internet Companies Get in the Way of Child Abuse Investigations

By Closing Down the Undercover Identities

The Times Online reported today that Yahoo as well as other internet companies are getting in the way of child abuse investigations by closing down identities that are used for undercover use to track down pedophiles. Yahoo stated to The Times Online that "Everybody using our service, regardless of whether they are law enforcement agencies, has to abide by our terms of service and if they don't we will close them down,"

The internet companies including Yahoo say that they will shut down all bogus identities and profiles on their sites even if they know that they are being used as undercover officers to catch pedophiles. In most of the internet companies, their terms of service state clearly that a profile must be true, accurate, current, and complete as reported by The Times Online.

Brian Ward who is the detective inspector for a high-tech division of of the Metropolitan child abuse unit, tells The Times Online, there's been many occasions when the lack of cooperation with the internet companies had been "enormously frustrating". He also went on to say that, "If you breach Yahoo!'s terms and conditions they pull the plug," Some companies such as Bebo and Myspace who are owned by New Corporation who owns The Sunday Times had in recent months become much more helpful to those trying to catch pedophiles under bogus profiles, according to The Times Online.

Michele Elliot, Kidscape director which is a child protection group informed The Times Online, that the refusal to allow undercover operations to catch pedophiles online is "absolutely ridiculous". Yahoo in turn retaliated that they take child protection seriously and they are an active member of the Internet Watch Foundation, which helps to locate and stop online abuse.