Internet companies to block child porn sites

NEW YORK, USA: Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner Cable have agreed to block Internet bulletin boards and web sites that disseminate child pornography, The New York Times reported on Monday.

The move is part of an agreement with New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo, to be formally announced on Tuesday, the paper said.

The companies are reported to have agreed to shut down access to newsgroups that traffic such images on one of the oldest outposts of the Internet, known as Usenet, as well as Web sites that host child pornography.

The agreements will affect customers not just in New York but throughout the US, the Times said, adding that negotiations are continuing with other service providers.

"The ISPs' point had been, 'We're not responsible, these are individuals communicating with individuals, we're not responsible,'" Cuomo was quoted by the Times as saying, referring to Internet service providers. "Our point was that at some point, you do bear responsibility."

After the companies ignored the investigators' complaints, the attorney general's office threatened charges of fraud and deceptive business practices and the companies agreed to cooperate and began weeks of negotiations, the Times said.

Representatives for the three companies either did not return calls to the Times or declined to comment for the article before the official announcement.