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Bipartisan effort to crack down on child predators

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Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith and Florida Democrat Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz have joined forces in a bipartisan effort to help law enforcement crack down on pedophiles and child pornographers.

On Wednesday, the pair introduced legislation to require that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) retain subscriber information for up to 18 months to help investigators track down child pornography offenders. Their bill, The “Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011” (H.R. 1981), would also make the distribution and purchase of child porn a federal offense.

“Child pornography is one of the fastest growing crimes in America, increasing an average of 150% per year,” said Smith. “This is partly because investigators do not have adequate tools to track down dangerous pedophiles that prey on the most innocent in our society.”

Wasserman-Schultz added that she is relieved that reforms such as this would help keep children safe.

“We must make it clear that no longer will these predators be allowed to hide behind a computer terminal and continue to violate children, whether through uploading pictures or broadcasting real-time assault,” she said. “I was pleased to learn that many ISPs already retain these records solely for law enforcement use in these cases, and many children’s lives have been saved because of it. This bill will extend what has already been proven to work to all ISPs, and will ensure that no child will continue to be violated because the perpetrator’s digital fingerprints were erased.”

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