Senate Bill Aims at Web Porn Sites
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By Joseph S. EnochConsumerAffairs.Com Congressional Correspondent
Citing a recent study which found that 90 percent of children ages eight to 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet, two senators today introduced legislation that would give teachers, parents and librarians greater control over what minors are viewing online.
The Cyber Safety for Kids Act would require adult websites to include a flag that would make it easier for filtering software on computers to block those sites. The bill also would require adult websites to have a clean homepage that asks a visitor to enter his or her birth date before allowing passage to pornographic pages.
Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) are co-sponsoring the bill.
"Bottom line, we want to keep our kids safe when they're on the Internet," Baucus said at a press conference this afternoon on Capitol Hill. "Parents and teachers shouldn't worry about their kids when they're on the computer at home or in the classroom."
The legislation would require adult website operators to use the electronic flag when registering or renewing the domain. The Department of Commerce would fine and possibly take down adult websites that do not include the flag, Pryor said.
Both Senators admitted at the press conference that this legislation is not a cure-all.
The U.S. cannot force websites based in other countries to use the flag.
Further, the age verification that would be found on clean pornographic homepages cannot actually prove that the indicated age is accurate. Baucus used Budweiser's website as an example. That website requires the visitor to indicate that he or she is at least 21 years old. But there's no way to actually verify that the person typing that information in, actually is that age.
"They didn't build Rome in a day," Baucus said. "But this is a step in the right direction."
The online pornography industry has grown from 14 million sites in 1998 to over 400 million in 2005 and is a $12 billion industry, Pryor said. Pryor also cited the Kaiser Family Foundation study that found 90 percent of kids ages eight to 16 have viewed pornography online.
"The statistics are staggering already, but if we sit back and do nothing to protect kids on the Internet, the problem will only escalate," Pryor said in a prepared statement. "I stand with Arkansas' teachers and parents who want their children to expand their horizons through the Internet without running into indecent material."
The legislation will go before the Senate Commerce Committee before the full Senate can vote on it. There is no similar bill in the House yet.
http://www.protect-x.com/
By Joseph S. EnochConsumerAffairs.Com Congressional Correspondent
Citing a recent study which found that 90 percent of children ages eight to 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet, two senators today introduced legislation that would give teachers, parents and librarians greater control over what minors are viewing online.
The Cyber Safety for Kids Act would require adult websites to include a flag that would make it easier for filtering software on computers to block those sites. The bill also would require adult websites to have a clean homepage that asks a visitor to enter his or her birth date before allowing passage to pornographic pages.
Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) are co-sponsoring the bill.
"Bottom line, we want to keep our kids safe when they're on the Internet," Baucus said at a press conference this afternoon on Capitol Hill. "Parents and teachers shouldn't worry about their kids when they're on the computer at home or in the classroom."
The legislation would require adult website operators to use the electronic flag when registering or renewing the domain. The Department of Commerce would fine and possibly take down adult websites that do not include the flag, Pryor said.
Both Senators admitted at the press conference that this legislation is not a cure-all.
The U.S. cannot force websites based in other countries to use the flag.
Further, the age verification that would be found on clean pornographic homepages cannot actually prove that the indicated age is accurate. Baucus used Budweiser's website as an example. That website requires the visitor to indicate that he or she is at least 21 years old. But there's no way to actually verify that the person typing that information in, actually is that age.
"They didn't build Rome in a day," Baucus said. "But this is a step in the right direction."
The online pornography industry has grown from 14 million sites in 1998 to over 400 million in 2005 and is a $12 billion industry, Pryor said. Pryor also cited the Kaiser Family Foundation study that found 90 percent of kids ages eight to 16 have viewed pornography online.
"The statistics are staggering already, but if we sit back and do nothing to protect kids on the Internet, the problem will only escalate," Pryor said in a prepared statement. "I stand with Arkansas' teachers and parents who want their children to expand their horizons through the Internet without running into indecent material."
The legislation will go before the Senate Commerce Committee before the full Senate can vote on it. There is no similar bill in the House yet.
http://www.protect-x.com/
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