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Battling Internet Child Pornography
October
7, 2009
Reflections by Fr. Shay Cullen # 454 (Fr. Shay's columns are published in The
Manila Times,
in publications in
Ireland, the
UK,
Hong Kong, and on-line.)
http://www.preda.org/archives/2009/r09100701.html
While the watery floods killed and damaged hundreds of people in the Philippines, many of them children, another kind of flood continuously destroying the
innocent lives of children and youth. That's the flood of child pornography
coming into the Philippines and more of it made here with Filipino children being abused, videotaped and
transmitted over the Internet. Even during the floods, the Preda children crises
center was rescuing victims of child sexual abuse. Displaced children need extra
special protection from traffickers and pedophiles during calamities. Our
children's homes are full to overflowing with horrific cases. Child pornography
is one of the most evil stimulators leading to child sexual abuse.
The internet server providers, telephone companies and broadband providers bear
the greatest responsibility for allowing this filthy internet traffic to flood
our computers and corrupt our people. It can be monitored, filtered and
controlled. In 2004, The British Telecom Company (BT) developed and installed
the first filtering software to block access of internet customers to child
pornography sites.
A child protection UK
industry body, the Internet Watch Foundation monitors child porn sites and feed
the BT Cleanfeed software with every child pornography web site address (URL) it
can find. The program has been authorized by the European Union and it will
bring in similar blocking laws in the future. Germany
has also moved to pass a law to block access.
This made BT one of the most admired and ethical telephone companies in the
world and many have followed their example. In the
Philippines, Globe, Sun and Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) and its sister
company SMART have to give the good example and do this voluntarily because it
is the right and good and ethical thing to do. Filtering and blocking child porn
protects children from being abused and exploited in the real world in cyber
porn shops and dens and then being victimized again and again virtually on the
internet. These companies have enormous responsibility to act ethically on this
issue.
The first to do it will reap great rewards and the gratitude of worried parents
and every civil society organization, NGO, church agencies will promote the safe
and Cleanfeed internet provider.
Why they don't do it is answered by one simple word "profit". The fear
of losing customers if they introduce blocking software is in their minds. Yet
if all the big internet provider companies led by PLDT-SMART agree to do it
together then none would loose business. The chairman of the Philippine Long
Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Smart Communications Manuel Pangilinan and
PLDT President and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno are now challenged as never before
to exercise corporate responsibility by giving the lead in protecting children
on the internet by blocking child porn instead of blocking Skype, the free
internet-based telephone service. If they can block Skype, they can block child
porn.
This is what Internet server providers and telephone companies will have to do
when the new Philippine anti-child pornography law is finally signed by
President Gloria Arroyo, hopefully before the end of the year. Soon, under the
new law it will be a serious crime to make, possess or distribute child
pornography in the Philippines
either over the internet or by any means whatsoever.
PLDT is the provider of DSL broadband in the Olongapo-Subic area and what an
expensive DSL it is for a slow connection. We need fast broadband DSL to
advocate children's rights and protect them from abuse and exploitation. We at
Preda and other child protection agencies should be getting the full support of
PLDT for this important apostolate. What I surmise is that the numerous sex
bars, clubs, and hotels, some of them using prostituted children, are
downloading pornography and thus they are apparently getting the best
connections speeds.
Why does PLDT need to make profits by selling connections to these sex-for-sale
establishments? They are a massive monopoly and need to exercise more corporate
responsibility. PLDT and all other phone companies should voluntarily block
access to child pornography web sites and protect the vulnerable children. They
can help turn this country, known for shameful child prostitution, to one
admired for its corporate responsibility, virtue and protection of children.
They can lead by good example. IF NOT, WHY NOT?
Visit www.preda.org for more related
articles.
Contact Fr. Shay Cullen at the Preda
Center, Upper Kalaklan,
Olongapo City,
Philippines.
E-mail: preda@info.com.ph
PREDA Information Office
PREDA Foundation, Inc.
www.preda.org
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