Utahn tries new tack in battle over Net porn

In a statement issued last week, Hatch called Internet pornography a "clear and present danger to children and families," and he praised the efforts of CP80.

"We have to pursue creative and innovative solutions to this growing public health threat, and CP80 is one of the leaders in that effort," Hatch said.

Orem marriage and family therapist Jill Manning, who earlier this month testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution about the negative effects of Internet pornography on marriages and families, calls the initiative "a fresh, thinking-outside-the-box solution that we desperately need."

"It's effective, it's smart, it makes sense and it's a solution," Manning said. "That's what I love about it. When we're so focused on the problem, here comes along an innovative, fresh-thinking solution that makes sense."

The good news for consumers is that CP80 would be available for everyone to use — or not use — for free, Yarro said.

As a nonprofit, all of the costs associated with developing the CP80 Internet Channel Initiative — including payroll — have come out of Yarro's deep pockets.

In March, Yarro was the recipient of an undisclosed amount of money and 5.49 million shares of SCO stock — valued at about $22 million — in a settlement with The Canopy Group. Yarro was the former CEO of the Lindon-based venture-capital firm and was one of three former executives to sue for unlawful termination.

"I've seen a lot of solutions out there — tons," he said. "Every now and then, somebody will walk through the door and say, 'I know how to fix the porn problem,' and they'll offer us this new appliance that they're going to knock on every door in America and have the parents buy."

But families or employers who don't want pornography in their homes or offices shouldn't have to pay to keep it out, he said.

CP80 also isn't another content filter, which Yarro says are well-intended but flawed and can give parents a false sense of security.

"Filters don't cut it," he said. "They don't catch everything. Parents aren't being given the tools to choose what content comes into their homes. If you give them that, I guarantee parents will embrace it and will support it."

And that's what CP80 does, Yarro said: It creates choice for the end user.

Despite all of the content available on the Internet, he said, users really don't have any choice beyond Internet-on or Internet-off. And even that's not much of a choice anymore.

"More and more, it's not a choice if your kid gets online," Yarro said. "You almost have to have the Internet to function in today's environment. In education, our kids have to have access to the Internet. Because of that, they're exposed to the dangers that go along with that."