Joe Pitts: “Peer-to-peer file-sharing software poses a danger to our children. At any given time, 22 million children are online…”

“Peer-to-peer file-sharing software poses a danger to our children. At any given time, 22 million children are online sharing files on peer-to-peer networks. They usually trade music and photos. But another group of peer-to-peer users has a different agenda. Most parents do not know about it. Most kids do not have a clue. Pornographers and child predators use these networks to expose young children to the crudest forms of pornography imaginable, much of it child porn, always disguised using innocent-sounding terms. Often, these predators attempt to arrange meetings with young people through this software. These contacts pose a significant risk to the safety of our children when they use the computer. This week, the Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will take up this issue. Among the solutions to be discussed is my bill, H.R. 2885, the Protecting Children From Peer-to-Peer Pornography Act. The bill addresses the cyberdangers of file-sharing programs, like KaZaA. Congress must act to protect children from this threat. If left unchecked, peer-to-peer networks will become the worst base of operations which child molesters, pornographers, and predators use to attack our kids in our homes online.”