RIYADH — Security authorities are finalizing preparations for the National Forum for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation through the Internet. The forum will take place mid-November in Riyadh and Crown Prince and Minister of Interior Muhammad Bin Naif will attend the opening ceremony, a source told Makkah daily. "Experts say the sexual exploitation of children through the Internet is a challenge the security authorities are facing alongside other challenges. There were 608 cases of child pornography reported last year," said the source. The source also said the Interpol requested Riyadh to track down 1,046 Internet users in the Kingdom. "Most of the wanted accounts were involved in child pornography. The forum will have lectures and workshops related to the topic and will be given by experts in child protection and Internet crimes. There will also be lecturers from security authorities, judicial directorates, family security programs, Human Rights Commission and the National Society for Human Rights," said the source. Human Rights Commission President Bandar Al-Aiban said the Shoura Council is currently studying legislation to protect minors. "The Kingdom signed a UN agreement on child rights last week. The authorities received a lot of reports from the Interpol of websites of child pornography in the Kingdom. All of the reports were responded to and those behind these websites were arrested," said the source. The source also said there have been a total of 3,100 information technology and information privacy crimes last year. "There have been 1,142 cases of selling weapons and ammunition online, 608 child pornography cases, 543 cases of human trafficking online and 487 defamation cases, in addition to 320 other online crimes," said the source.
