Manitoba enacts child porn reporting law

Manitoba became the first Canadian province to enact a law requiring anyone who encounters child pornography to report it to police.

Family Services Minister Gord Mackintosh said while the most likely people to come across child pornography are Internet service providers and computer repair technicians, the law makes it mandatory for every resident to report it, the Winnipeg Free Press reported Thursday.

The measure places pornography on the same level as child abuse, which the law already required citizens to report.

"Child exploitation is already the most under-reported form of child abuse and a serious problem that has to be addressed," Mackintosh said. "We have to increase reporting and we have to make sure the law catches up to technology."

Penalties for failing to alert police about child pornography include a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years in jail, the report said.