A new initiative will allow the shutdown or blocking of Web sites offering illicit images of minors, even in cases where no criminal investigation is being conducted, the New York Times reports. The project, expected to be announced today at a congressional hearing, is part of an effort among Internet service providers and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Until now, decisions to close child porn sites were ad hoc, based on thousands of referrals to service providers and the center’s Cybertipline.
A similar effort in Great Britain resulted in a major decline in the percentage of child pornography sites based in Britain, to 0.2 percent this year from 18 percent in 1997. In that period, the percentage of such sites based in the U.S. rose, to almost 50 percent. In the U.S. plan, the missing and exploited children’s center will confirm the presence of illegal images on reported sites and provide the Web addresses and related information to the service providers. Those companies will then take down such sites or will block their subscribers' access using filters. Among the groups participating in the effort are the U.S. Internet Service Provider Association, as well as AOL, Earthlink, Google, Microsoft, and United Online.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/us/21porn.html?hp&ex=1158897600&en=5ca94004