CTIA–The Wireless Association® Launches Partnership with National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to Combat Child Pornography
November 17, 2008
Washington, DC – CTIA–The Wireless Association® announced this morning it has joined forces with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to keep child pornography off of wireless networks. To accomplish this goal, CTIA and representatives from the wireless industry have created the Wireless Child Safety Task Force, whose mission is to help keep wireless devices and services free of child pornography. As a matter of course, wireless companies will continue to prohibit websites believed to contain child pornography from being hosted on their servers.
Relying on the considerable expertise of both CTIA member companies and NCMEC, the Task Force will work to identify, review and support actions to further deter child pornography on wireless networks and services. This will include the exploration of solutions that can be lawfully executed while safeguarding consumer privacy.
“The wireless industry will work diligently to keep this illegal content off its networks,” said CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent. “We are proud to partner with the nation’s leading child-protection organization in this fight against an insidious criminal activity and enterprise. We greatly value our relationship with NCMEC and look forward to working with them as they put their exceptional knowledge, advice and expertise to work for America’s 265 million wireless subscribers.”
“Child pornography is not protected speech, it is child sexual abuse. Those who produce it, distribute it and even possess it commit a crime. Yet, with the advent of the Internet, child pornography has exploded. That is why we are so grateful for the leadership and vigilance of CTIA-The Wireless Association and the entire wireless industry. NCMEC and the wireless industry have worked together to reunite missing children with their families. Today, we take our next bold step together to keep every child safer,” said NCMEC President and CEO Ernie Allen.
Through the efforts of the Task Force, the wireless industry will expand its existing partnership with NCMEC. For more than three years, The Wireless Foundation has teamed with NCMEC and the U.S. Department of Justice to administer the Wireless AMBER Alerts™ program.
CTIA’s Wireless Child Safety Task Force will also develop an educational initiative that will expand the on-going work of The Wireless Foundation to inform the public – especially parents and children – about best practices for safe wireless Internet behavior. CTIA firmly believes the Wireless Child Safety Task Force will continue the industry’s commitment to providing a safe environment for children and families using wireless services.
“In today’s competitive marketplace, innovative wireless companies are always changing and always evolving to meet the demands of their customers. In order to combat this unlawful activity, we fully intend to channel the same dynamic spirit and energy of the wireless industry in the effort to protect America’s youth,” continued Largent.
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CTIA is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry,
representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers.
www.ctia.org
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since it was established by Congress in 1984, the organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing children’s hotline which has handled more than 2.3 million calls. It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 132,300 children. The organization’s CyberTipline has handled more than 639,800 reports of child sexual exploitation and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 18,790,000 child pornography images and videos. The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice’s office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at: www.missingkids.com