Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner Cable have all agreed to block access to bulletin boards and websites that carry images of child sex abuse, as well as coming together to give $1 million to help remove child sex sites, according to the New York Times.
The move comes as a turnaround, since previously ISPs had claimed they couldn’t be responsible for what customers did online. And it’s all down to Andrew Cuomo, New York State Attorney General, who arranged the deal with the ISPs.
"You can’t help but look at this material and not be disturbed," he was quoted as saying in the New York Times. "To say ‘graphic’ and ‘egregious’ doesn’t capture it."
Quite how willing the ISPs were might be a matter of conjecture, however. The agreement followed an eight-month investigation by agents from the New York State Attorney General’s office who posed as subscribers, then complained the ISPs were allowing child porn images, despite having customer service agreement that agreed to discourage the activity. After that Cuomo’s office reportedly threatened to take the ISPs to court over charges of fraud and deceptive business practices. Cuomo’s office is currently in negotiations with other ISPs.
