The president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the 2007 Miss America Lauren Nelson, a GoDaddy.com executive, and the director of the Crimes Against Children Research Centre at the University of New Hampshire, all testified before the American Congress today about how to protect children from online predators. Child pornography on the internet is estimated to be a US$20billion business.

The executive of GoDaddy.com said that they had investigated thousands of child pornography allegations and have shut down many offending websites because of their violation of the GoDaddy.com terms of service to which all registrants much agree, and which includes a clause that unlawful conduct or improper use is unacceptable. GoDaddy.com reports offending websites to the relevant authorities and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and encourages other internet companies to do the same. GoDaddy.com also participates in initiatives to prevent fraudulent activities online, such as the establishment of phishing sites designed to farm visitors' personal and financial details.

The Go Daddy Group devotes substantial resources to working with law enforcement, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and others to help protect children from Internet predators, said GoDaddy.com General Counsel Christine Jones. Exploitation of children online generally - and specifically child pornography - is a growing and unacceptable problem that must end, and we are committed to working with law enforcement to see to it that it happens.

Lauren Nelson, Miss America 2007, who received inappropriate images from an internet predator as a girl, now urges education and law enforcement authorities to educate children about safety online. Virginia has already introduced such a programme. According to a survey conducted by the Crimes Against Children Research Centre, one in twenty-five young people who surf the internet have at some point been asked for sexually explicit photographs of themselves online.