B) The Human Rights of Children and Adolescents in the Digital Environment and the Issue of New Types of Sexual Crimes The digital environment is a space that provides an important opportunity for teenagers to express their thoughts, opinions, and political opinions. In addition, the use of the digital environment plays an important role in the growth process and establishing self-identity of children and adolescents.323) In other words, the digital environment is an important part in the development and the protection of human rights of children and adolescents, and at the same time, children and adolescents are an important users of digital platforms. However, the production and distribution of digital sexual exploitation materials targeting children and adolescents have recently been organized using new information and communication technologies, such as the Dark web.324) In addition, sex crimes that occur in the digital environment require special attention to protect the children and adolescents in that the damage is semi-permanent and highly scalable in many cases. The main characteristics of the situations in which children and adolescents are exposed to the digital environment are as follows. First, it is more difficult to recognize, report, and investigate problems targeting minor victims in an online environment. In many cases, when sexual offenses occur, children and adolescents do not recognize that they are in such a situation and end up in an irreversible situation, and they tend not to report for the fear of their parents finding out.325) In addition, even when there is a report, if the platform operator does not cooperate with the investigation, confirming the crime is difficult. Second, sex crimes that occur in the digital environment are new, and there is no established basis for punishment or appropriate disciplinary methods. Actions with sexual connotations towards avatars are not subjected to criminal law, not only in Korea, but also abroad.326) However, there is a research result indicating that the real and virtual experiences 323) 5 Rights foundation, Our Rights in a Digital World: A snapshot of Children’s views from around the world, 2021. 324) If it exists on an encrypted network, various crimes occur because certain types of websites that can be accessed only through special paths, anonymity are guaranteed, and IP addresses cannot be traced. 325) NHRCK, Human Rights Status Investigation, Investigation on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation of Children and Measures for Human Rights Relief, 2021. 326) Kim, Jeong-hwa, Kim, Yoon-sik, and Cha, Ho-dong, A Study on Sexual Violence Crimes and Criminal Legal Regulations 136