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DF: No freedom of speech for paedophiles
Christian Wenande
April 4th, 2018
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This article is more than 6 years old.
Government party argues it would be an invasion of civil liberties
Will the police be given freer rein in the online hunt for practising paedophiles? (photo: Pixabay)
In Denmark, it’s not illegal to say you are a paedophile and have sexual fantasies involving children. But it should be, according to Dansk Folkeparti (DF).
The party has been quick to propose a ban on paedophile utterings following the news today that over 200 Danes are members of a hidden internet forum for paedophiles with over 18,000 members worldwide.
“It’s terrible that so many Danes take part in this. I think that it should be illegal and criminalised. It can lead to people urging one another to commit abuse,” Peter Kofod Poulsen, the spokesperson for judicial matters for DF, told DR Nyheder.
Poulsen went on to say that the punishment for breaching the proposed law would be forced treatment.
READ MORE: Group of volunteers to use fake profiles to capture paedophiles
Freedom of speech issue
But government-coalition party Venstre has rejected the plan, arguing that the move would go against freedom of speech values in Denmark.
However, both parties agree when it comes to equipping the police with new tools in the fight against paedophilic crime.
They also concur that the authorities should have a better opportunity to infiltrate paedophile networks in order to undercover the paedophiles, stop them and bring them to justice.
Reducing the limit
As of now, the punishment for manufacturing pornographic material involving children under the age of 18 for the purpose of selling or spreading it is a fine or prison for up to six years.
But the police can only operate as secret agents on the net if the crime can be punished by more than six years in prison.
“People are not on a closed forum like this unless there is a significant risk that it can lead to paedophile abuse. The police need to have these tools to investigate whether these people have committed a crime, or are on their way to doing so,” Preben Bang Henriksen, a spokesperson for Socialdemokratiet, told DR Nyheder.
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