06/20/2008 GAAS:451:08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version | Email / Share
Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Brown Call on Internet Service Providers to Block Child Porn Access
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and
Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today called upon California's Internet
service providers to follow the lead of Verizon, Time Warner Cable and Sprint by
"removing child pornography from existing servers and blocking channels" that
disseminate the illegal material.
"Protecting the safety of our children
must be a top priority, not just for government, but also for businesses with
the direct power to reduce the ability to conduct illegal activity," Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. said in a joint
letter to the California Internet Service Provider Association, which represents
more than 100 Internet service providers in California.
"We applaud three of the world's largest
Internet service providers-Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and Sprint-for taking
steps to block access to child pornography. It is not enough, however, for only
a few Internet service providers to join the fight against online predators.
Child pornography is not protected by the First Amendment, and distributing this
material is illegal."
On June 10, 2008, New York Attorney
General Andrew Cuomo announced agreements with Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and
Sprint, to block access to child pornography by purging their servers of
existing child pornography and eliminating access to child pornography
newsgroups.
Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney
General Brown said other Internet service providers should follow these
companies' lead by ridding their own servers of child pornography and preventing
access to illegal content through newsgroups.
"The California Internet Service
Providers Association is the largest association of Internet providers in the
country and we are asking your members to take their leadership role seriously.
The association can begin by working with its more than 100 members to remove
child pornography from existing servers and blocking channels, which include
newsgroups, used for distributing this material," Schwarzenegger and Brown said.
California is home to the
Silicon Valley which has hundreds of Internet
service providers, ranging from large companies to smaller, local providers.
Some of the major providers include AT&T and AOL. According to the
California ISP Association, the largest such association in the country, there
are more than 100 Internet service providers in California.
The California Attorney General's office
has been working with other states to protect children from dangerous predators
on the Internet. California recently joined 49 other states in
reaching agreements with Myspace and Facebook so that those social networking
sites take steps, including age and ID verification processes, to protect
children from online sexual predators. The attorney general's office also
deploys special agents who conduct undercover investigations into online sexual
predators. For more information about the apprehension teams, visit: www.ag.ca.gov/cbi
A copy of Governor Schwarzenegger and
Attorney General Brown's letter to the California Internet Service Providers
Association, sent today, is attached.
