Release Date: 2007-08-06
Original Link: http://presszoom.com/story_138742.html
Source: CST
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) joined Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) late last night to introduce a bill to promote Internet Safety and to protect children from cybercrimes, including crimes committed by online predators. The Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act, S. 1965, also enhances efforts to identify and eliminate child pornography, and helps parents prevent the exposure of inappropriate material to their children.
(PressZoom.com) - WASHINGTON, D.C. – Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) joined Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) late last night to introduce a bill to promote Internet Safety and to protect children from cybercrimes, including crimes committed by online predators. The Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act, S. 1965, also enhances efforts to identify and eliminate child pornography, and helps parents prevent the exposure of inappropriate material to their children. The bill is cosponsored by Senators Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas).
“The Internet is a powerful medium. But that power must not be used to prey on our nation’s children,” said Senator Inouye. “This bill takes important steps to promote online safety and aid parents in their efforts to protect their children from harm on the Internet. It educates parents and children on safe Internet use, strengthens laws to identify and prosecute crimes involving child pornography, and supports industry efforts to create better parental control technologies to block and filter inappropriate content. Combined, these efforts will help reduce the risk of children becoming victims to online crime.”
Specifically, the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act would:
Direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to carry out a nationwide public awareness campaign regarding strategies to promote safe use of the Internet by children and to serve as a clearinghouse for information about Internet safety that can be accessed by state and local governments, schools, and other appropriate entities. The bill would authorize $5 million in 2008 and 2009 for such purposes and would require the FTC to submit an annual report to Congress regarding its activities to promote Internet safety.
Direct the Department of Commerce to establish an Online Safety and Technology Working Group that would bring together representatives from industry, public interest groups, and other appropriate groups and federal agencies to: (1) review and evaluate industry efforts to promote parental control technologies including blocking and filtering technologies and age-appropriate labeling; (2) report evidence of apparent child pornography as required under 42 U.S.C. 13032; (3) detail industry practices with respect to the retention of data that may be used to identify and prosecute crimes against children; and (4) support the development of new technologies that will aid parents in shielding their children from inappropriate material. The Working Group would report its findings and recommendations associated with its work within 1 year.
Amend existing E-rate requirements to ensure that schools, as part of their Internet safety policy, educate minors about appropriate online behavior, including education about “cyberbullying” and appropriate interactions on social networking websites and in chat rooms.
Strengthen child pornography enforcement by: (1) tripling existing fines against providers of electronic communications services or remote computing services that fail to report evidence of child pornography under 42 U.S.C. 13023; (2) enhancing the ability of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to share relevant information with international law enforcement officials; (3) specifying the content required in reports to NCMEC; and (4) allowing NCMEC to share images and technical information used to assist providers of electronic communications services or remote computing services in identifying and eliminating images of child pornography.
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