Canada's child porn reporting tip line Cybertip.ca got surprising results during its first three months in operation, with 1,400 tips coming in between January and April.
Cybertip reported the results June 8 and said the numbers were both startling and possibly the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
"Given that this is illegal content, it's really difficult to know the scope of the problem, and we are assuming that obviously this is bigger than we even know," said Child Find Manitoba executive director Lianna McDonald, announcing the report.
"This is another sad reminder of how many sick people are using the Internet to sexually abuse children," said Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection executive director Joan Irvine, whose group receives more than 6,000 reports a month with 8 percent becoming "unique Red Flag reports" that are sent on to the FBI.
Irvine said she learned last month at a P2P Patrol event that 8 percent was the same percentage that law enforcement and other agencies say they receive.
CFM launched the tip line as a pilot project in the Manitoba province only in 2002. The line went nationwide in January with federal government funding help. CFM said that most of the 1,400 reports concerned websites and material based outside Canada, with 600 of the tips strong enough to pass on to law enforcement in Canada and elsewhere.
