Looking at child pornography on the internet will become a criminal offence in the Netherlands under new legislation being drawn up by justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin, ANP news service reports. The possession of child porn is already a crime.

A new EU treaty which the Netherlands has signed now makes it possible to use credit card details to prove suspects have downloaded banned material such as child porn.
It also makes it easier to combat ‘grooming’, a process by which adults befriend children via the internet with the aim of abusing them sexually.
Once the Netherlands has passed its new law, the public prosecution department will be able to take action against suspected abusers who suggest a meeting with a minor.