The new piece of legislation, Bill C-22, makes it a crime to fail to comply with reporting duties and dovetails from last year's bill that died in Canada's Parliament.
But the bill extends beyond Internet service providers by including those who provide Internet access, hosting or email services, including such services as Google and Facebook, as well as adult websites that act in the interactive space.
ASACP CEO Joan Irvine told XBIZ that although the bill attempts to solve a growing problem, self-regulation and industry "best practices" should be the first line of defense against illegal activity.
"The legitimate ISPs already report child pornography images to law enforcement and CP reporting hotlines," she said. "In fact, the ISP association — the U.S. Internet Service Provider Association (USISPA.org) — has such best practices that ASACP refers to it in their 'Best Practices for Hosting Companies.'"
Irvine further said that in many cases "the bad players are not concerned about such fines."
"They either just consider such fines as the cost of doing business," she said. "They are so well hidden or under the radar, law enforcement can't find them."
Bill C-22 has a two-year statue of limitations and creates fines for a first offense of no more than $1,000, but repeat offenders could be fined upwards to $10,000 with imprisonment for not more than six months.
Companies, including the ISPs, that fail to report child porn would be fined no more than $10,000, upwards to $100,000 for repeat offenses.
