Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

Publicola

AG McKenna recently posted a guest op-ed on the online news and opinion site, Publicola. The op-ed deals with a disturbing online industry:

"Much has been made of file-sharing sites that facilitate the trade of copyrighted music and movies. But many child pornography traffickers use this same file-sharing technology to trade images of child sexual abuse, profiting from the horrific abuse of kids. The demand for online child pornography has exploded, and the demand is being met by the systematic sexual assault and trafficking of children."

The AGO, along with legislators from both political parties, has authored legislation to address this problem:

"[W]e assembled a bipartisan coalition to respond to technological changes that have allowed some of the most depraved members of society to enjoy pictures and videos that memorialize gruesome crimes against children. Supporters include Sen. Adam Kline (D-Seattle), who previously had serious concerns about the new law. This year he’s adopted our proposal in SB 6397 making it a felony to intentionally view child pornography on the Internet."

Learn more about the bill here. Track the legislation here.

-Dan Sytman-