New York says may sue Comcast over Net child porn

By Joseph A. Giannone

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has pressured Internet service providers to block access to child pornography, on Monday said his office would pursue legal action against Comcast Cable Communications LLC if it did not quickly agree to reforms.

Last month, major ISPs such as Verizon Communications, Sprint, Time Warner Inc's AOL unit, AT&T Inc and Time Warner Cable, agreed to block Internet bulletin boards and websites nationwide that disseminate child porn.

But the Comcast Corp unit did not sign New York's "code of conduct" that includes these and other business reforms, Cuomo wrote in a letter obtained by Reuters.

Comcast issued a statement saying it has been working with Cuomo and said it expects it will sign on to the New York code of conduct. The company also noted it signed a separate agreement with the cable industry and 48 state attorneys general to help combat child pornography.

Cuomo said the nation's No. 2 ISP "has continued to drag its heels when it comes to taking every necessary action to eliminate online child porn from the Internet."

As a result New York will pursue "legal action" -- typically a lawsuit -- if Comcast does not agree to change its business practices within five days, Cuomo said.

The attorney general said his office issued a subpoena to Comcast on May 6 related to the industry wide investigation and commenced talks "several weeks ago" to reach some agreement over how Comcast could "fight against child pornography."