Child pornography on the rise in Maldives, challenging law enforcement efforts

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Maldives’ Commissioner of Police, Mohamed Hameed, has expressed concern over the increasing use of the internet to access and share child pornography in Maldives, local media outlet Mihaaru reported on 17 May 2023 in a Maldivian native Dhivehi language report.

Addressing participants at the Justice Sector High Level Conference, Hameed revealed that child pornography is being accessed over 200 times daily from IP addresses in Maldives. However, tracking down the perpetrators of such heinous acts poses significant challenges.

Hameed emphasized that this alarming trend poses a serious threat to the safety of children in Maldives. To combat this issue effectively, he called for improved information sharing among agencies and easier access to data required for investigations.

Despite international agencies providing information such as content details and IP addresses related to such cases, the police face obstacles in locating and apprehending the offenders. Internet service providers, unfortunately, do not cooperate with the police in sharing such critical information, hindering law enforcement efforts. Consequently, numerous cybercrime cases have been hampered due to the lack of internet traffic data.

Maldives, with the highest internet population in the region, is lacking in comprehensive information technology, cybercrime, and cybersafety laws. This deficiency raises concerns that internet service providers might impede the sharing of vital information with law enforcement agencies, as required by law.

Notably, Maldives also faces other forms of internet-related crimes, including defamation, insults, and misuse of social media platforms. In December 2021, the police obtained a court order to shut down websites, pages, and channels that promote content in support of religions other than Islam and publish articles insulting Islam. The service providers were given 72 hours to comply with the order, although it remains unclear if any action has been taken in this regard.