- The defense attorney for a career civil servant who is set to face charges of possessing child pornography later this month is questioning why the Internet service provider that distributed the material isn't being charged as well. rnrn
Jimmy Todd, a U.S. Department of Agriculture midlevel manager, is charged with keeping on government property 27 photographs and two videos depicting minors in sexual acts and poses, which he received from members of his Yahoo e-group.rnrn
Earl Waddell, his defense attorney, questions why Yahoo was not investigated and charged.rnrn
"The government says these images were downloaded through Yahoo user groups," Waddell said. "You can do a search under Yahoo!Groups, and Yahoo will give you a list of the names of their porn user groups. The names are very explicit; there are even sites that feature nude babies. What is the rationale for allowing Yahoo to be the source for this type of trash?"rnrn
E-groups, which provide a Web-based forum for like-minded computer users to exchange any type of content, have been a major center of child porn trafficking in recent years.rnrn
"Yahoo has a strong track record of enforcing our terms of service and is committed to taking swift and appropriate action when notified of cases of abuse," Mary Osako, a Yahoo spokeswoman, said in a brief e-mail statement.rnrn
ISP's are currently not required to monitor their networks for illegal material. However, if they are notified that illegal content is on their networks and they refuse to take it off, they are liable. rnrn
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