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ISPs Move to Shut Down Child Porn Sites
By Christina Quick | July 24, 2008
Liberty Counsel today sent out the following press release. I’m glad to see the corporate world taking a stand against those who perpetrate such evil against children. The fact that there is such a vast market for this kind of material should serve as a reminder to parents about the need for vigilance when it comes to protecting their children.
Last week, Internet Service Providers AT&T and AOL-Time Warner joined Time Warner, Sprint, and Verizon in shutting down child pornography Web sites from their servers.
The announcement came through New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Time Warner, Sprint, and Verizon have donated $1.1 million to Cuomo’s ongoing child pornography investigations. The decision to shut down the Web sites comes as another victory to advocates of protecting the innocence of children.
Officials initiated an eight-month investigation into child pornography on the Internet and found 88 different news groups that were devoted to child porn. All 88 of these news groups are being shut down by the aforementioned cable/Internet providers.
Child pornographers and pedophiles have been dealt two major defeats in the past six months, as the U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld a federal ban on child pornography, and now, as cable providers have begun removing such sites from servers. In the past, ISPs have inexplicably refused to take action against blatant purveyors of child pornography, and neither federal nor state prosecutors have tried to force ISPs to act.
The New York Attorney General’s office has created a Web site, which provides details on which ISPs have signed agreements with his office to eradicate access to child porn on their servers.
“This is an encouraging initial step, spearheaded by some of the world’s leading ISPs,” says Matt Barber, Liberty Counsel’s director of cultural affairs . “They are to be commended for moving in the right direction. Hopefully, other ISPs will follow suit and take similar measures to protect children. Still, much more needs to be done. ISPs must take the logical next step and begin blocking the very adult obscenity which, through the law of diminishing returns, often leads to consumption of child pornography. Research has established that, like a gateway drug, adult obscenity can ultimately lead to child abuse. Internet obscenity, at every level and every stage of production, destroys those it touches. Men, women, children, families and larger society are demonstrably harmed by such smut.”
Topics: Internet |
