Net Repression,Michigan.
Matthew X
profrv at nex.net.au
Thu Aug 29 05:39:12 PDT 2002
Feds Rousting Adult Websites; Tying Them into Kiddie Porn
The state of Michigan is demanding that six Web site billing companies stop
processing payments from computer users interested in getting child
pornography online. But now the edict is extending beyond kiddie porn to
mainstream adult websites.
Michigan's attorney General Jennifer Granholm announced yesterday that her
office has issued cease and desist orders to BillCards, CardBilling,
Ccbill, LancelotSecurity, iBill and Trust-Bill. Each of the companies were
notified that providing access to and collecting proceeds from members on
behalf of child pornography Web sites constituted aiding and abetting child
porn distribution, which is illegal in Michigan.
However a livid Frank Bongiorno one of the directors of the Barely Legal
series reports that his website frankiesangels.com has been turned off buy
iBill which was labeled by Granholm as one of "the keepers of the keys to
child porn Web sites across the globe" and would be taken to criminal
court. "They turned off my site this morning without any evidence
whatsoever," said Bongiorno, referring to iBill. "I have a completely legal
site. I have all the 2257 paperwork in my lap right now. I'm going over all
ID's and model releases. I got for that barely legal market. I have a lot
of young girls on my site, but there's absolutely no children on my site."
Bongiorno says he's been on the line with attorney Jeffrey Douglas who's
checking his content and had just appeared on a webmaster's radio show.
"I'm putting the word out there that iBill is not backing us up," he said.
"They got scared- they got threatened and they just cut us off." Asked what
iBill's accounting of the situation was, Bongiorno said he was told that
iBill was under investigation for promoting the sale of child pornography
[Granholm said she believes this is the first time law enforcement has gone
after these types of Internet billers]. "They said because of that they
turned off our billing," Bongiorno added. "They literally make billions off
the adult industry every year and after all the money we make for them they
turn us off without any evidence. Just because the attorney general
threatened their merchant accounts."
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