For the first time in decades, network companies and financial corporations have joined forces to gradually extinguish the commercialization of child pornography online.
This financial alliance consists of 18 leading companies in the United States from the finance and technology sectors, aimed at completely eliminating all forms of child pornography on the Internet.
The coalition includes Bank of America, American Express, Mastercard, AOL, Yahoo, and Microsoft, among others, and will share information about commercial websites linked to child pornography while preventing the transfer activities of these websites. For now, the group hopes to block most, if not all, of the websites they are aware of, as well as a significant number of other sites that are likely to emerge in the near future.
It is estimated that there are over 200,000 websites of this type. This presents a significant challenge to the strength of the coalition. Any website discovered will receive a warning notice.
The Flow of Money is Crucial
This organization has received substantial support from the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Mr. Baron Daniel Cardon de Lichtbuer, president of ICMEC, stated, “To combat the overwhelming surge of these child pornography websites, we need the cooperation of many organizations. We have legal assurances at the international level, but law alone is not enough. It is essential to cut off the economic benefits of this despicable business. The Internet environment has facilitated the growth of this lucrative industry. Users can easily access child pornography images and videos through e-commerce thanks to online payment cards.”
To combat this issue, the organization will focus on sharing information about pornographic websites through the individual networks of each company. The financial flow of these companies will be halted from circulating online.
Mr. Ernie Allen, president of the coalition, shares a similar view: “The most direct and effective way to eliminate this business is to cut off the financial flow.” This effort requires close cooperation between payment system providers, particularly banks, and technology and media companies.
The center plans to establish offices in many countries to facilitate information gathering from various sources, overcoming language and cultural barriers.
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