Prompt Cast
Comedian Barry Crennitz's Fight Against Child Pornography on AOL Chat Rooms
TLDR Comedian Barry Crennitz shares his personal story of being sexually abused as a child and how it led him to go undercover on AOL chat rooms to collect evidence of child pornography. His efforts eventually led to the arrest of 100 people and changes in the industry.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
This episode includes a content advisory for bad language and a story about sexual abuse, so listeners should be aware and skip the second half if necessary.
03:37
The speaker had relationships with lesbian women and felt more comfortable with them than with straight women.
07:29
Barry Crennitz, a comedian, ran comedy clubs in Boston in the 70s and 80s and is known for his political material, but he doesn't talk about his personal life until one night in May of 1992 when he felt compelled to address the context behind the Rodney King verdict.
11:26
Barry Crennitz, a comedian, addresses the LA riots during his stand-up routine and shares a personal story about being sexually abused as a child, leading him to seek out support from online chat rooms for abuse survivors, only to discover that there were also chat rooms for child pornographers and pedophiles on the same platform.
15:02
Barry Crennitz went undercover on AOL chat rooms to collect evidence of child pornography and attempted to get law enforcement involved, but they were unaware of the issue and didn't know what AOL was.
18:19
Barry Crennitz spent seven months posing as children in AOL chat rooms, collecting evidence of child pornography and eventually turned it over to the FBI, leading to the arrest of 100 people, including one who tried to get Barry to mail him urine-soaked underwear.
21:53
Barry Crimmins testified in front of the Senate about the problem of child pornography on the internet, arguing with AOL's assistant counsel and ultimately leading to AOL changing their policy to zero tolerance for the transmission of child pornography.
24:55
The hearings on child pornography in 1995 led to changes in the industry, with companies becoming mandatory reporters and law enforcement catching up with the technology.
Categories:
Technology
Society & Culture
