CIDG launches website vs child-related cybercrimes

Citizens can start reporting incidents of Internet pornography, identity theft, and other cybercrimes involving children through a new website launched by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on Thursday. The website, called “Angel Net," will serve as an online complaint center as part of the government advocacy “to protect kids from Internet addiction and cyber predators," CIDG chief Police Director Samuel Pagdilao Jr. said. Along with the website, the CIDG also opened a 24/7 operation center “to enhance the capability of the CIDG to monitor and track cyber predators for their eventual arrests and prosecution in court." Run by the Women and Children Protection Division, the desk will cater to "walk-in" complainants, Pagdilao said. Hardly reported, acted upon “Confronting crimes of this nature cannot be dealt with traditional anti-criminality operation especially with the kind of situation law enforcers are in," Pagdilao explained, noting that another problem is the absence of a “cyber tip line" for reports on cyber crime. He added that law enforcers also have limited resources and ability to address Internet-related crimes. “It is for this reason that the CIDG is exploring other avenues beyond common investigative and detective works to properly address the problem that is bounded by the intricacies of Internet," he said. Yet despite the existence of the website, a cybercrime law has yet to be enacted in the Philippines. This law will define cybercrimes, impose penalties on these, and prevent these from being committed. Psychological impact Cybercrimes that involve children make a negative psychological impact on them, said a report on GMA News TV’s “Balita Pilipinas" newscast last month. In Cebu, children who were victims of cybersex ended up seeking sexual relations with other children, said the “Balita Pilipinas" report. — TJD, GMA News