WASHINGTON, D.C. (Legal Newsline) - What started with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has spread across the rest of the country.

The National Association of Attorneys General announced an agreement with the National Cable & Telecommunications Association that is designed to limit the distribution of child pornography on the Internet.

Cuomo has already reached agreements with five major Internet Service Providers that will eliminate child porn Newsgroups and Web sites. His investigation found 88 Newsgroups that contained more than 11,000 pictures of child porn.

New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram called the NAAG agreement "an important first step."

Eighteen ISPs joined in the agreement, which blocks any access to Web sites known to feature any child pornography files. Those ISPs provide Internet access to 87 percent of homes in the country.

NAAG President and Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said the agreement "is notable as the first such agreement (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) has reached with an entire sector of the nation's communications industry.

"The NCTA agreement with NCMEC will limit the ability of predators to store and exchange images of exploitation of those who are, by definition, among the more vulnerable in society. We congratulate the cable industry for taking a strong stand in support of child safety."

Forty-five attorneys general took part in the agreement. The cable operators signed the agreement include: Comcast; Time Warner Cable; Cablevision; US Cable Corporation; Cox Communications; Charter Communications; Bright House Networks; Suddenlink Communications; Mediacom Communications Corp; Insight Communications; Bresnan Communications; Midcontinent Communications; Broadstripe; BendBroadband; Eagle Communications; GCI; Sjoberg's Inc.; and Harron.

From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at john@legalnewsline.com.