DOJ arrests hundreds in take down of Darknet child exploitation site

The largest known child pornography site, “Welcome to Video,” has been taken down by the U.S. government. This darknet site, operated by a 23-year-old South Korean man, Jong Woo Son, charged $300 a year to access the site and more for people to download videos and images of children, even infants, being sexually abused.

337 people worldwide have been charged and arrested as a result of an investigation that has taken years to complete. The site took extreme precautions to maintain its illegal presence, but investigators broke through by following Bitcoin transactions to a bank account that belonged to the site’s operator.

“Children around the world are safer because of the actions taken by US and foreign law enforcement to prosecute this case and recover funds for victims,” said Jessie K. Liu, an attorney for District of Columbia where the US case was filed. “We will continue to pursue such criminals on and off the darknet in the United States and abroad, to ensure they receive the punishment their terrible crimes deserve.”

It’s rare that we cheer the government’s ability to break through online privacy barriers, but there are certain circumstances when such powers are warranted. This is unambiguously one of them as the sick acts and those promoting them have been uncovered.

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