Cable operators that bring Internet service to 87 percent of American homes will take additional voluntary measures to limit the distribution of child pornography on the Internet under an agreement announced Thursday between the the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Under the unprecedented industry-wide agreement, all cable operators represented on NCTA's Board of Directors have agreed to help reduce the proliferation of child pornography by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with NCMEC. The companies offer broadband Internet service to more than 112 million homes, representing 87 percent of all homes in the U.S.

"Building on our strong commitment to online safety, the cable industry wants to help combat child pornography and exploitation," says Kyle McSlarrow, President & CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. "By signing the NCMEC MOU, cable Internet service providers are reaffirming their strong commitment to online safety and Internet literacy for all American families."

"We are deeply grateful for this industry-wide attack on child pornography," says Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC. "It is not possible to arrest and prosecute every offender. We must be creative and build new public-private partnerships to address this insidious problem more effectively. Today's announcement represents a bold step forward."

On behalf of NAAG and the 36 attorneys general who have signed a letter in support of the NCTA-NCMEC MOU, Rhode Island Attorney General and NAAG President Patrick C. Lynch commended NCMEC and NCTA on the agreement.

"Although NCMEC has recently signed similar agreements with individual companies, this agreement is notable as the first such agreement NCMEC has reached with an entire sector of the nation's communications industry," writes Lynch. "The NCTA agreement with NCMEC will limit the ability of predators to store and exchange images of exploitation of those who are, by definition, among the more vulnerable in society. We congratulate the cable industry for taking a strong stand in support of child safety."

Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell notes, “Combating child pornography and sexual predation is one of the chief priorities of our office. We have given Virginia some of the nation’s toughest laws, while at the same time working to greatly increase public awareness of the issue. Today’s announcement is a continuation of our efforts, on a national scale. I have been pleased to work with my fellow attorneys general on this issue, and I commend Attorney General Lynch for his leadership. I also want to commend NCMEC and the NCTA for today’s historic agreement. NCMEC is based in Alexandria, and has been a partner of our office since day one. They were a member of our Youth Internet Safety Task Force and hosted our first meeting in 2006. NCMEC saves lives everyday, and I thank Ernie Allen and the entire staff for their commitment to America’s children and parents.”

McDonnell’s Computer Crime Unit investigates and prosecutes computer crimes under Virginia’s Computer Crimes Act. The section prosecutes cases involving child pornography, sexual predation, identity theft, spamming, and fraud.

Specifically, the cable companies have agreed to use NCMEC's database of websites identified as containing child pornography, to ensure that no such site is hosted on servers owned or controlled by those companies. The companies will also report these incidents to NCMEC's CyberTipline and where appropriate revise their policies around other potential sources of child pornography, such as, for example, newsgroups.

The agreement with NCMEC will provide cable broadband service providers with an invaluable source of information to help them enforce their terms of service, all of which forbid the hosting of such illegal materials on their servers. The information provided by NCMEC to cable service providers will also help them identify instances of child pornography, facilitating their reporting of such material to NCMEC as required by federal law. This in turn enables NCMEC to refer these cases to law enforcement for investigation and prosecution.

The cable operators that have agreed to execute the MOU within 30 days include: Comcast Corporation; Time Warner Cable; Cox Communications; Charter Communications; Cablevision System Corporation; Bright House Networks; Suddenlink Communications; Mediacom Communications Corp; Insight Communications; Bresnan Communications; Midcontinent Communications; Broadstripe; US Cable Corporation; BendBroadband; Eagle Communications; GCI; Sjoberg's Inc.; and Harron. Several of these companies have a major presence in the Commonwealth.

NCTA's agreement with NCMEC is the latest milestone in cable's efforts to ensure online safety and promote Internet literacy for all families and Internet users. When NCTA launched its PointSmartClickSafe online safety initiative in June 2007, cable ISPs pledged in a code of conduct to support law enforcement in its efforts to ensure online safety for American families.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, established in 1984, is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide services nationwide for families and professionals in the prevention of abducted, endangered, and sexually exploited children. The Center serves as a clearinghouse of information about missing and exploited children and operates a CyberTipline that the public may use to report Internet-related child sexual exploitation. NCMEC was a prominent member of McDonnell's Youth Internet Safety Taskforce and was host to the Task Force's inaugural meeting in 2006.

NCTA is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable industry, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation's cable television households and more than 200 cable program networks. The cable industry is the nation's largest broadband provider of high-speed Internet access after investing more than $130 billion over ten years to build a two-way interactive network with fiber optic technology. Cable companies also provide state-of-the-art digital telephone service to millions of American consumers.

The National Association of Attorneys General was founded in 1907 to help Attorneys General fulfill the responsibilities of their office and to assist in the delivery of high quality legal services to the states and territorial jurisdictions. NAAG's mission is: "To facilitate interaction among Attorneys General as peers. To facilitate the enhanced performance of Attorneys General and their staffs." NAAG fosters an environment of "cooperative leadership," helping Attorneys General respond effectively, individually and collectively, to emerging state and federal issues.