Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography

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The Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography is a coalition of credit card issuers and Internet services companies which seeks to eliminate commercial child pornography by taking action on the payment systems used fund these illegal operations.

Twenty-nine 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.

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, First Data Corporation, First National Bank of Omaha, Google, HSBC - NA, JP Morgan Chase, MasterCard, Microsoft, North American Bancard, Nova Information Systems, PayPal, First PREMIER Bank/PREMIER Bankcard, Standard Chartered Bank, Visa, Washington Mutual, 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. By expanding it's Cybertipline to accommodate input from financial companies, NCMEC has established a clearinghouse to facilitate the sharing of information among FCACP companies and law enforcement.

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.

In addition, FCACP members have been focusing on leveraging their collective expertise and developing best practices to deter the online exploitation of children. For example, in 2007, the FCACP published it's first best practices document addressing the methods used by the financial industry to research, verify, and monitor merchants who want to join the payments system.

[edit] References

Best Practices from the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography August 24, 2007]