[1] WASHINGTON (BP)–The U.S. Senate approved July 21 two measures designed to protect children from pornography on the Internet.
Senators agreed to a proposal by Sen. Dan Coats, R.-Ind., restricting commercial World Wide Web sites from distributing pornography to children under 17. They also passed a bill by Sen. John McCain, R.-Ariz., requiring schools and libraries that receive federal Internet subsidies to have software filters on their computers to block out sexually explicit material.
“I think the two pieces of legislation work hand (in) hand to protect our children from exposure to on-line pornography,” Coats said in a written statement. “This is a victory for parents, a victory for kids and a victory for common sense. Our goal has been to find a reasonable way to help families protect young minds, hearts and eyes from the rawest, most degrading forms of pornography available.”
Coats’ legislation requires commercial distributors on the Internet to remove free images and to require a credit card or personal identification number in order to view sexually explicit material. It is common practice on the web for pornography distributors to provide five to 10 images for free before requiring a credit card to see others, a spokesman for Coats said.
Under McCain’s legislation, schools must have software filters of their choosing on their computers in order to receive universal service discounts for Internet access. Libraries must have such a blocking system on at least one computer for children in order to receive the federal subsidy.
“Children should not be allowed to enter school or a public library and gain access to material that their parents would never allow them to see and that most in society believe is inappropriate for those who are not yet adults,” McCain said in a written statement.
Will Dodson, public policy director of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said, “It is fortunate that there are men like Sen. Coats and Sen. McCain willing to fight this battle. Pornography is one of the most frequently used tools of Satan. It is an issue which the church needs to pay greater attention to.”
The bills were approved by voice vote as amendments to the appropriations bill for the Commerce, State and Justice departments. The U.S. House of Representatives has yet to act on the legislation.
Coats’ bill is a new approach to Internet pornography after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year the Communications Decency Act was unconstitutional. The CDA, which Coats and now-retired Sen. James Exon, D.-Neb., had co-authored, prohibited the distribution through on-line computer services of “obscene or indecent” material to any person under 18. It also banned the depiction or description of “sexual or excretory activities or organs” that is “patently offensive,” according to community standards.
The Supreme Court, however, struck down the CDA, saying its ban violated “the First Amendment right of adults to make and obtain this speech.” The CDA regulated a variety of zones on the Internet, from news groups to chat rooms to e-mail to the World Wide Web, which the high court found too expansive. The court also drew distinctions between commercial and noncommercial distributors.
Although he disagreed with the court’s ruling, Coats changed his strategy by attempting to fashion his new bill to alleviate the justices’ concerns. He did so largely by targeting only commercial distributors on the Web.
McCain’s bill deals with a problem that has become the focus of controversy at libraries in various communities in the country. Parents groups have called for filters on computers, while civil liberties organizations have fought such efforts.