Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography

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The Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography is a coalition of credit card issuers and Internet sevices companies which seeks to eradicate commercial child pornography by 2008.

Twenty-two of the world’s most prominent financial institutions and Internet industry leaders have joined with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and its sister organization, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), in the fight against Internet child pornography. The group is called the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography and its goal is to eradicate commercial child pornography by 2008.

Senator Richard C. Shelby (R-AL), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, was the catalyst in bringing these industry leaders together to address the problem.

The Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography includes leading banks, credit card companies, third-party payment companies, and Internet services companies. Members of the Coalition include America Online, American Express Company, Authorize.net, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citigroup, Discover Financial Services LLC, e-gold, First Data Corporation, First National Bank of Omaha, Google, MasterCard, Microsoft, North American Bancard, Nova Information Systems, PayPal, First PREMIER Bank/PREMIER Bankcard, Standard Chartered Bank, Visa, Wells Fargo, and Yahoo! Inc.

Within only a few years, child pornography has become a multi-billion dollar commercial enterprise, and is among the fastest growing businesses on the Internet. Through the use of digital and web cameras, child pornography has become easier and less expensive to produce. Distribution on the Internet has facilitated instant access by thousands and possibly millions of individuals throughout the world. The ability to use credit cards and other payment methods to purchase child pornography has made it easier than ever to obtain.

The exact number of child pornography web sites is difficult to determine. In 2001, the CyberTipline operated by NCMEC had received more than 24,400 reports of child pornography. By the beginning of 2006, that number had climbed to more than 340,000.

The first step to achieving the goal is to establish a global Clearinghouse on child pornography to provide a unified system for identifying illegal activities and sharing information between Coalition companies. NCMEC/ICMEC will serve as the global Clearinghouse on the commercial aspects of child pornography.

Coalition members will be vigilant and will look proactively for and report child pornography to the Clearinghouse. The Coalition will ensure that information derived from proactive efforts is reviewed by the Clearinghouse, that information is shared with Coalition companies, and that a tracking and feedback system is developed to ensure that broad based action is taken to eradicate illegal practices.

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