Rep. Wasserman Schultz Applauds Decision by Internet Service Providers to Block Access to Child Pornography

(Washington, DC)  —  Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz applauded the announcement by New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that Sprint, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon will block access to sites offering child pornography. Rep. Wasserman Schultz is the sponsor of the PROTECT our Children Act (H.R. 3845), which seeks to build a massive law enforcement response to combat the exploding multi-billion dollar market for child pornography on the Internet. Due to lack of resources at the Federal, state and local level, law enforcement currently investigates fewer than two percent of known offenders.

“I commend these service providers for taking a stand to halt access to this illegal activity,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “The war against child pornography is a human rights issue. We need to look at each and every image of child pornography as a crime scene photo, created by a thriving industry that uses children as sexual commodities,” she said. “Law enforcement is outnumbered and overwhelmed, and we need every tool – including socially responsible behavior by Internet Service Providers – to help us halt this continued exploitation of children.”

Child pornography, which is not protected by the First Amendment, by its very nature, represents non-consensual sexual contact between adults and minors. Many images are generated from within a child’s “circle of trust” (a parent, a teacher, a relative, etc.). Tragically, the increased demand for these images has increased the numbers of sexual assaults upon children. Research shows that if law enforcement were to investigate possessors of child pornography, it could also rescue an actual victim of child exploitation thirty percent of the time.

“We need to think of this as a war,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “A war we must wage against sex predators, a war for our children. I commend Sprint, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon for joining us on the front lines in protecting children and putting a stop to child pornography.”