A/HRC/28/55 111. Whenever possible, legislation should be “technology neutral”, so that its applicability is not eroded by future technological developments. At the same time, it is crucial that legislation address loopholes associated with emerging concerns, including new forms of online abuse such as grooming, and develop criminal proceedings to facilitate their investigation and prosecution. 112. The accountability of States is equally important to set a clear regulatory framework for the activities of corporations and to support businesses to meet their responsibilities in safeguarding children’s rights throughout their operations, both at home and abroad. The many opportunities offered by regulation, self-regulation, incentives and public-private partnerships should be further explored, including with a view to attracting new sectors of activity, as well as small and medium-size companies. One example of such a regulatory framework is the Philippines Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 (see box below). The Philippines Anti-Child Pornography Act lists prohibited and unlawful acts, which include hiring, inducing, persuading or coercing a child to perform in the creation or production of child pornography; producing, manufacturing or directing child pornography; offering, publishing, selling, distributing, broadcasting, promoting, importing or exporting child pornography; and possessing child pornography with the intention to sell, distribute or publish. The law prohibits grooming of children for sexual purposes and requires private sector actors, such as ISPs, private business establishments and Internet content hosts, to assist in the fight against child pornography. ISPs have the obligation to notify the Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation within seven days upon discovery that their servers or facilities are being used to commit child pornography offences. They are obliged to preserve evidence for use in criminal proceedings. Upon request by law enforcement authorities, they must give details of users who access websites containing child pornography. ISPs must install programmes or software designed to filter and block child pornography. Additionally, owners and operators and owners or lessors of other business establishments have the responsibility to report child pornography offences within seven days of discovering that their premises are being used to commit such offences. Importantly, the Act requires appropriate protections for child victims of pornography offences, which includes strict confidentiality in handling evidence, protecting witnesses and assisting in recovery and reintegration. 113. Law enforcement is essential both to prevent online violence and abuse and to respond to it. However, that is a particularly challenging area, given that physical contact need not occur in order for a crime to be committed. Moreover, much of the evidence involved in those cases is in an ephemeral electronic format that may elude traditional policing methods. 114. Police investigations in many countries are hampered by a lack of capacity to conduct undercover operations, which are vital in investigating crimes such as grooming and the production and distribution of child sexual abuse materials. 115. Those factors also present challenges to judges and prosecutors, who require specialized training to handle digital evidence and assess its weight and value, as well as to understand child abuse and exploitation cases associated with the use of new technologies. 19

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