This module is a resource for lecturers

Exercises

This section contains material that is meant to support lecturers and provide ideas for interactive discussions and case-based analysis of the topic under consideration.

Exercise # 1: Use of Network Investigation Techniques in Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Investigations

US law enforcement agencies are using networking investigation techniques (NITs), "specially designed exploits or malware," in their investigations of child sexual exploitation and abuse (Finklea, 2017, p. 2).

Please review [*Students must review this document before class]:

Discussion Questions

  • What network investigative techniques were used in Operation Torpedo, Operation Pacifier, and the investigation of Freedom Hosting?
  • What are the pros and cons of using these NITs in child sexual exploitation and abuse investigations?
  • Does law enforcement have a legal obligation to disclose identified vulnerabilities and potential exploits?
  • Should law enforcement disclose identified vulnerabilities and potential exploits?
  • What other strategy or strategies (beyond law enforcement measures) could be used to counter the cybercrimes committed in Operation Torpedo, Operation Pacifier, and the investigation of Freedom Hosting?

Students should explain and support their responses with the reading assigned for this exercise and the core readings for this Module.

Exercise # 2: What Cybercrime or Cybercrimes were Committed?

Daniel Seon Woong Lee is a South Korean musician known as Tablo, who was married to a South Korean actress and had a large fan base (Davis, 2012). Prior to his music career, Lee had completed one undergraduate and one graduate degree while at Stanford University. Following the fake diploma scandals in South Korea (where many high level private and state actors were found to have fraudulent educational credentials), anonymous citizens formed online groups to question Lee's credentials. The online forum "We Request the Truth from Tablo" (TaJinYo) was the largest of these groups (Davis, 2011). Members of this group and other Internet users anonymously attacked and abused Lee online. Evidence that proved Lee's credentials (even from Stanford University) were dismissed as being false evidence and the introduction of this evidence was considered part of a cover-up by people paid to lie on his behalf. Anyone who tried to defend him was also branded as a liar and experienced reputational harm. For this reason, few were willing to publicly support Lee. Even the media in South Korea reported on the claims provided by his online abusers without fact checking. This further exacerbated the problem. He was verbally abused and threatened in public, received death threats, was accosted in the street, and even shunned and ostracized by South Koreans. His attackers even targeted his family, defaming them, challenging their integrity, and threatening their lives. The cybercrimes committed against him largely (but not completely) stopped after he travelled to California with a camera crew and prominent South Korean journalist to video his trip to Stanford University to have his transcript verified on camera by Stanford University.

  • What cybercrimes were committed against Tablo? Why do you think so?
  • Would your answers to the above questions change if you were in a different country? Please justify your response.

Exercise # 3: HeForShe Campaign

UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, HeforShe gender equality campaign started in 2014. The campaign received worldwide attention due to UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson's compelling speech during the session that went viral on social media.

Please review the following videos about the HeforShe campaign:

Discussion Questions

  • What are the obstacles to the realization of the objectives of this campaign in your home country?
  • What are the obstacles to the realization of the objectives of this campaign in other countries? (Select three countries to discuss)
  • What are some potential ways in which these barriers can be overcome?
  • How can/does this campaign relate to interpersonal cybercrime? Please justify your response.

Exercise # 4: Responding to Gender-Based Interpersonal Cybercrime (Image-Based Sexual Abuse)

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) is a significant social, legal and health problem around the globe that requires a comprehensive response incorporating both criminal and civil law, as well as corporate social responsibility on the part of social media and Internet intermediaries that provide a 'space' for such abuse to occur. There is also a need for greater education and awareness of this form of abuse within the community, if prevention is to occur.

Over the past five years, there has been greater attention to IBSA globally, as evidenced by parliamentary inquiries, public consultations, law reform efforts, media attention, as well as other proposed or enacted legal and non-legal measures in various jurisdictions. However, there continues to be a number of barriers to responding to IBSA, including inconsistent laws, a lack of resources, evidentiary limitations, jurisdictional restrictions, and victim-blaming attitudes that contribute to underreporting.

Please review [*Students should review these before class]:

  • Henry, Nicola, Flynn, Asher and Powell, Anastasia. (2018). Policing Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Stakeholder Perspectives. Police Practice and Research: An International Journal, Vol 19(6), 565-581.
  • Bond, Emma and Tyrell, Katie (2018). Understanding Revenge Pornography: A National Survey of Police Officers and Staff in England and Wales. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, doi: 10.1177/086360518760011.

Discussion Questions

  • What are some of the obstacles to responding to image-based sexual abuse? Discuss these in relation to domestic laws and in terms of a global response.
  • What are some potential ways these obstacles can be overcome?
  • How can we address victim-blaming attitudes that exist in responding to interpersonal cybercrime?
  • What type of education/prevention campaign would you design in your home country to alert people to the harms of interpersonal crime and to aim to prevent its occurrence?
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