Internet Safety Bills & Laws

                                                                                                                                  FBI Press Conference -Courtesy  AP
Click here to review the 110th Safety Content Bills [adobe Acrobat]

Legislation to protect children from Internet sexual predators and pornography has been a long and difficult battle, leaving children growing increasingly more vulnerable in the last 12 years. It is estimated that 1 in 3 children are exposed to sexually explicit images online (unintentionally). In the legislation drafted, only a few have survived judicial scrutiny. Thankfully, many lawmakers continue in the fight to protect our vulnerable and impressionable children.

In the mid 1990's, the first law to address children and the Internet was the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996, which made it a crime to use a telecommunications device to transmit "any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication which is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent, with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass another person." Shortly after it was signed into law, the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and other similar groups filed suit, claiming that the law violated the First and Fifth Amendments. When the case reached the Supreme Court, the ACLU won with a ruling of 7-2 ruling stating that the law put an unacceptably heavy burden on protected speech. Justice John Paul Stevens argued that the CDA failed to distinguish between sexually explicit speech that has social or artistic value and pornographic speech.

In response, lawmakers drafted the 1998 Child Online Protection Act (COPA). Tailored more narrowly than the original CDA, the new law targeted only commercial entities on the Internet. It required that they use identification systems like a credit card number to keep minors from accessing obscene materials online. The new law failed to settle the concerns of the Supreme Court. The ACLU and several other organizations challenged COPA the day after President Clinton signed the bill. The Court ruled in an 8-1 decision that the law was too broad in scope and could not be practically enforced. The law was sent back to a lower court for review, and it was again struck down as unconstitutional in March of 2003.

In the meantime, members of Congress drafted additional pieces of legislation, all characterized as "Sons of CDA"  none of which were enacted into law. In 2000, Congress settled on the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which blocked federal funds for schools and public libraries unless they employed software to filter out material deemed harmful to minors. The law instantly and consistently triggered a response from free speech advocates, who argued that the filters would block harmless sites and would force adults to ask permission to gain access to blocked sites. The ACLU and American Library Association soon challenged the law. This time the Supreme Court's decision, announced in June 2003, came down in favor of the statute; in a 6-3 vote, the Court held that if the government provides funds for a program, it is entitled to set parameters for the operation of that program.

Laws prohibiting the spread of online child pornography have had almost as complicated a legal history as the "Sons of CDA."  The Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) was enacted in 1996 to combat virtual child pornography. CPPA banned the possession of any computer-generated image which "is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct."  A free speech advocacy group filed suit on the grounds that the law was over-broad, saying that CPPA would endanger constitutionally protected speech. In the Supreme Court's April 2002 decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that restrictions on sexually explicit materials would endanger the performance of literary works depicting teen sexuality, such as Romeo and Juliet. The Court decided that only pornography with actual children (not fake or computer-generated child porn) could be outlawed under the First Amendment. Predictably, the number of defendants claiming that the child pornography found on their computers is fake has increased, according to the Justice Department. This "virtual porn defense" has made prosecutor's efforts much more difficult, as they must now prove that defendant's pornographic images depict actual children. Now the obvious problem of proving that a defendant actually had awareness that pornographic the images depicted real children brings about a complexity in any such case.

In response, Congress passed the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act. The PROTECT Act makes it more difficult for defendants to use the virtual porn defense in court. The act also makes it a crime to use a misleading Internet domain name with the intent to trick a minor into viewing obscene materials. The act was signed into law by President George W. Bush on April 30, 2003. On April 6, 2006, in United States v. Williams, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that one component of the PROTECT ACT, the "pandering provision" violated the First Amendment. The Eleventh Circuit further held that the law was unconstitutionally vague, in that it did not adequately and specifically describe what sort of speech was criminally actionable. The Department of Justice has appealed the Eleventh Circuit's ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case is scheduled for October 30th 2007 on the 2007-2008 schedule.

Congress has had slightly more success protecting the privacy of children on the Internet. Congress in 2000 passed the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires that website operators obtain proof of parental consent before collecting personal information from children younger than 13.

More recently, on July 27, 2006 President Bush signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. One important component requires the U.S. Justice Department to create a public accessible Internet based national sex offender database that allows users to specify a search radius across state lines. The result is the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website.

FACTS

• 1 out of 3 children are exposed to sexually explicit images online
• 20% of Internet porn involves images of children
• Over 1500% increase in child pornography images in a 10 year period
• Approximately 50% of those arrested with child pornography are known to also victimize children
• There are nearly 600,000 registered sex offenders in the United States
• Nearly 25% of registered sex offenders are unaccounted for
• Approximately 70% of sexual assault victims are under the age of 18
• Annually, child pornography generates over 3 billion dollars
• Law enforcement estimates over 100,000 sexual predators are online at any given time

Online Enticement of Children for Sexual Acts

Use of the Internet to entice, invite, or persuade a child to meet for sexual acts, or to help arrange such a meeting, is a serious offense (18 U.S.C. 2425).

Unsolicited Obscene Material Sent to a Child

It is an unfortunate reality of the Internet that children will encounter obscene material online. Many times this material is attached as an image(s) or hyperlink(s) sent to a child in an unsolicited E-mail or "spam."  It is a violation of criminal law for any person to knowingly or attempt to send or transfer obscene material to another individual who has not attained the age of 16 years (18 U.S.C.A. 1470). Please report any incidents where a child may have received visual depictions of persons engaging in sexually explicit conduct that is obscene. If you are an adult who is concerned about adult obscenity not involving children on the Internet, please make a report to www.obscenitycrimes.org .

Misleading Domain Name

It is a federal offense to use a misleading domain name on the Internet with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing material that is harmful to minors, regardless of whether the material meets the legal definition of obscenity (18 U.S.C. 2252B). Please report the use of a misleading domain name that has directed a child to a web site containing harmful materials to children. Adults who are concerned about obscenity that has not been accessed by a child on the Internet may file a report at www.obscenitycrimes.org.

PART OF THE PROBLEM . . .NOT THE SOLUTION !!!

Congress has twice asked leading "PANELS OF EXPERTS" to provide guidance on the most effective way to protect children online. In both instances, those experts concluded that the only approach to online child safety is to provide comprehensive education about Internet use and safety, and to promote the voluntary use of technology tools such as filtering software that parents can install on computers in the home.

Failure to regulate content on the Internet has left children incredibly vulnerable and at risk. Teens and children are tech savvy and can easily bypass security software, blocks and passwords. Bills that would impose mandates on or limit access to social networking sites are prime examples of well-intended legislative proposals that have unfortunately failed, or have been reversed when signed into law.

Sadly, if Congress follows the advise of it's expert panels, they will only promote comprehensive education of children about the rules and risks of using the Internet, and of parents and caregivers about the use of filtering and other user empowerment tools. THIS IS NOT ENOUGH !!!!

Child Pornography Elimination Act of 2007 (H.R. 3148)
Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007 (S. 602)
Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007 (S. 1738)
Cyber Safety for Kids Act of 2007 (S. 1086)
Deleting Online Predators Act of 2007 (�DOPA�) (H.R. 1120)
Effective Child Pornography Prosecution Act of 2007 (H.R. 4120)
Enhancing the Effective Prosecution of Child Pornography Act of 2007 (H.R. 4136)
Family and Consumer Choice Act of 2007 (H.R. 2738)
Family Friendly Flights Act of 2007 (H.R. 3676)
Global Online Freedom Act of 2007 (H.R. 275)
Intercept Child Predators Act of 2007 (H.R. 3811)
Internet Safety Education Act of 2007 (S. 2344)
Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth Act of 2007 (�the SAFETY Act�) (H.R. 837)
Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act of 2007 (�the KIDS Act�) (S. 431)
Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act of 2007 (�the KIDS Act�) (H.R. 719)
Parents' Empowerment Act (H.R. 3899)
Protect our Children First Act of 2007 (S. 1829)
Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act (S. 1780)
Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act (H.R. 3559)
Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act (S. 49)
Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act (S. 1965)
Protecting Our Children Comes First Act of 2007 (H.R. 2517)
Providing Resources, Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our Children Act of 2007 (�the PROTECT Our Children Act�) (H.R. 3845)
Responsible and Effective Solutions for Children Using and Entering Online Services Act of 2007 (H.R. 3850)
Safeguarding America's Families by Enhancing and Reorganizing New and Efficient Technologies Act of 2007 (�the SAFER NET Act�) (H.R. 1008)
Safeguarding America's Families by Enhancing and Reorganizing New and Efficient Technologies Act of 2007 (�the SAFER-NET Act�) (H.R. 3461)
Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act of 2007 (�the SAFE Act�) (S. 519)
Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act of 2007 (�the SAFE Act�) (H.R. 876)
Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act of 2007 (�the SAFE Act�) (H.R. 3791)
Sex Offender Internet Prohibition Act of 2007 (H.R. 3144)
To direct the Attorney General to provide grants for Internet safety education programs. (H.R. 3577)
To direct the Attorney General to provide grants for Internet crime prevention education programs. (H.R. 4134)
Truth in Video Game Rating Act (S. 568)
Web Video Violence Act (H.R. 668)
Credit: Center for Democracy and Technology

Links

ASSOCIATION OF SITES ADVOCATING CHILD PROTECTION- http://www.asacp.org/page.php?content=index

DRU SJODIN NATIONAL SEX OFFENDER PUBLIC WEBSITE- www.nsopr.gov

TRACK LEGISLATION- www.govtrack.us

STOP CHILD PREDATORS - www.stopchildpredators.org

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - Making the Internet Safer for Children & Families - www.enough.org

PUBLIC OPINION

• Eight out of ten Americans (80%) believe federal laws against Internet obscenity should be vigorously enforced. (Wirthlin 2002).

THANK YOU

A special thank you to Peter Brust - Special Agent in Charge / Cyber Division of the FBI in Los Angeles. With warm appreciation, we also thank Wendy Davis and all of the professional, efficient and compassionate law enforcement officers and agents who worked expediently on Kristin's case, bringing Kiley Bowers swiftly to justice. Additionally, we deeply appreciate the dedication and diligent effort by Assistant United States Attorneys Richard Lee and Ken Julian of the United States Department of Justice.

A VOICE FOR KRISTIN

It is vitally important to contact, support and encourage our representatives to introduce and pass legislation which protects children on the Internet. Over a decade has passed with the majority of legislation failing, leaving millions of children at a greater risk for exposure to sexual predators and pornography. It's time to strongly speak out in support of all child protection legislation. Kristin Helms will always have a voice through those that love her, miss her beautiful smile and ache to hold her every day.

Danielle Helms