Credit card companies targeted in child porn clampdown

And, in spite of a number of major breakthroughs, there appears to be no end in sight to the Internet's biggest scourge. Legalbrief reports that proposals to make credit and debit card companies liable if they allow card holders to access to child pornography Web sites are gaining momentum.

After a South Bay cyber-sweep, police in San Jose, California, have arrested 11 men and women, including a registered sex offender, suspected of downloading sexual images of children on to their computers. The Mercury News reports that the six-week 'Operation Peer Block' culminated late last week with 140 officers serving 15 search warrants resulting in the seizure of 70 computers. The suspects are charged with felony possession of child pornography and are expected to be arraigned over the next two weeks. The Baltimore Sun reports that a Maryland State trooper faces felony charges of possessing child pornography after more than 3 000 images were found on his computer. Investigators say Bruce Tucker had received and exchanged images of child pornography, including male and female children performing sex acts, posing nude and performing oral sex. He was arrested on 16 July and released after posting $50 000 bail.

A city police officer was indicted on child porn charges on Monday after an undercover investigation by the department's Internet crimes against children squad, reports the Dallas News. He is accused of possessing sexually explicit photos and making them electronically available to others. USA Today reports that Jeremy Green, an ESPN analyst and the son of former NFL head coach Dennis Green, was arrested last Thursday for alleged possession of child pornography. In another high-profile case, a transsexual who downloaded sickening images of child pornography escaped jail because a judge said prison would be too tough a place for her. According to a report on the IoL site, Laura Voyce, who was born a man and used to go by the name Luke, faced being locked up for nine months in a male prison after being convicted of 14 counts of downloading indecent images of children. Four of the images discovered on Voyce's laptop were of level four, the second most serious, and featured semi-naked youngsters being abused. But, in spite of this, Judge Lesley Newton allowed Voyce to walk free with a nine-month jail term suspended for a year. Full Mercury News report Full Baltimore Sun report Full Dallas News report Full USA Today report Full report on the IoL site

Credit and debit card companies should be fined if they allow card holders to use them to access child pornography Web sites, MPs have said. Almost 40 have signed a Commons motion calling on the UK Government to introduce laws, similar to those in the US, to penalise card providers if their products are involved in such activity. The Scotsman reports that the motion was tabled by Labour MP Geraint Davies who will present a back-bench Bill to Parliament on Wednesday. 'By searching on keywords like child sex pornography, mainstream child abuse Web sites can be quickly identified and card providers required to block access or face heavy fines,' he said. Full report in The Scotsman

Staying with online pornographic issues, Indonesia is planning to use a controversial anti-pornography law to restrict porn Web sites in the next few months, said a Communications Ministry spokesperson. The Globe and Mail reports that the law was passed in 2008 to ban public displays of flesh and behaviour that could incite lust. Many see it as a sign of the growing influence of conservative Islam in officially secular and traditionally moderate Indonesia. The report quotes Gatot Dewa Broto as saying: 'We will send a formal request to ISPs to be more pro-active to every complaint related to pornography because we don't have the instruments to block it.' Full report in The Globe and Mail