We applaud new state legislation that would prohibit Internet users from accessing child pornography.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver earlier this week announced an agreement the legislation.
The measure would amend New York's Penal Law to prohibit individuals from knowingly accessing, with the intent of viewing, child pornography on the Internet. Currently, under New York law, a person who views child pornography on a website where the images become automatically embedded in a computer does not "possess" child pornography. This legislation closes that loophole.
Under the measure, if a person purposefully accesses a website, intending to view child pornography, he or she will be committing a felony. As a result, child pornography never can be legally possessed in New York state.
We agree with the governor, who said in a news release, "We must, under any circumstance, put the safety and protection of our children first by banning any and all forms of child pornography. This legislation closes a loophole that has allowed predators to go unprosecuted and unpunished. That will no longer be an option ... We are taking every precaution to ensure that our children are protected and that justice is served."