Friday, 23 July 2010
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An MP is calling for credit card issuers to be made legally responsible for the actions of buyers of prepaid credit cards, in a bid to tackle child pornography.
A private members Bill tabled by Labour MP Geraint Davies includes provision to make issuers such as Visa and Mastercard liable when pre-paid card are used to access abusive material online.
In practice, the regulations would severely restrict the use of prepaid cards, and could even prompt card issuers to remove them from sale in the UK rather than face liabilty for hefty fines.
Under current legislation, no proof of identity is required to purchase a prepaid card worth up to £100.
Davies said that internet abusers routinely "hide their identity by using pre-paid credit cards to download images. These pre-paid cards are available to adults and children for £100 a time at service stations and high street retailers without the need to provide proof of identity."
He added: "The credit card companies are not taking pre-emptive action. There is lots of money involved and no appetite for voluntary industry action."
The Bill, introduced under the Ten Minute Rule provisions, is unlikely to make it onto the statute books, but such Bills are routinely used to draw government attention to areas where MPs believe legislation is needed.
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