Tougher child-porn law proposed

The Net has created an "epidemic" of child pornography, said US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in a speech at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children late last week. He was unveiling "proposed changes in the law under the Child Pornography and Obscenity Prevention Amendments of 2006," the BBC reports. The BBC adds that "the proposals have been sent to Congress and include new laws that will require ISPs to report child pornography and bolster penalties for those companies that fail to do so." The Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA, which supports both free speech and voluntary site labeling for explicit, violent, and other types of content to which parents may not want children exposed) responded to the news with support but also a qualifier: "We vigorously oppose an added measure included in the draft bill which would require Web sites with sexually explicit material - material that is legal, but potentially harmful to minors - to use a government-mandated labeling system. ICRA strongly believes that self-regulation of legal Internet content leads to the best balance between the free flow of digital content and the protection of children from potentially harmful material." Here's the text of Mr. Gonzales's speech.

Meanwhile, the British government has taken a significant step in efforts against child exploitation: It just launched the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, "which will operate 24 hours a day [and] is the first of its kind in the UK to bring together police, computer industry experts and child welfare representatives to tackle issues such as online grooming and child abuse images," the Times of London reports. Meanwhile, the British government has taken a significant step in efforts against child exploitation: It just launched the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, "which will operate 24 hours a day [and] is the first of its kind in the UK to bring together police, computer industry experts and child welfare representatives to tackle issues such as online grooming and child abuse images," the Times of London reports . Finally, the Wall Street Journal's "Numbers Guy" takes a closer look at the child porn industry's "$20 billion" sales figure being widely cited.