Google unites with industry to stamp out child pornography

Search giant Google is taking its role as a leading Internet playing seriously by joining the fight against child pornography.

The company has followed in the footsteps of other online players like AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo by becoming part of the Technology Coalition funded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and its sister agency the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC).

NCMEC operates a CyberTipline, which had received more than 340,000 reports of child pornography at the beginning of this year. That figure has jumped massively from just over 24,000 reports in 2001.

These statistics clearly indicate that something more needs to be done.

Working with the other key players, Google will help create solutions to stop predators in their tracks. It will also aim to share best practice and research the technology that paedophiles use so that a counter-solution can be developed.

"...These companies set aside their competitive zeal to work together to protect the world's most vulnerable citizens," said Ernie Allen, president and chief executive of NCMEC and ICMEC.

"Google is to be commended for bringing its considerable expertise to the fight."

The search giant has also signed up to the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography initiatives, which is spearheaded by leading players in the financial services space.

"Google has joined these efforts as part of its zero-tolerance policy on child pornography and those who would promote it," said Nicole Wong, associate general counsel for Products and Intellectual Property at Google.

Earlier this week, the Home Office was blasted for inadvertently directing people towards porn as part of a campaign to protect children from such obscenities.

The Home Office Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre's website is located at www.thinkuknow.co.uk. Unfortunately, some people heard it advertised on a radio station and typed 'you' instead of 'u' for the URL.

This error led some visitors to a site of an adult nature. Due to the mix up the erroneous site has been taken down.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld the complaint and said that the ad should not be broadcast again in its current format.

"Although we recognised that there was no intention, we considered that a significant effect of the ad had been to indirectly publicise services which were unacceptable for broadcast; namely restricted adult material and other sexual services," stated the ASA's adjudication.

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