A great deal of content regulation is done with the governmental interest of protecting children. These laws seek both to protect children from harmful content, and, in the case of child pornography laws, protect children from being the subject of offensive content. Also included here are laws that protect children's privacy, and support Internet access for children at schools and libraries.
These content laws demonstrate a tension between the value of the Internet; and problematic content. [NAS 1] [COPA Exec Sum] [CIPA Report Exec Sum, Sec. II.A.] There is also a tension between a strong government interest of protecting children and the First Amendment. [COPA II]
Reports have identified the way in which content over the Internet causes risks for children:
"Technologies and methods identified in the lower right quadrant are most effective and accessible while imposing fewer costs and adverse impacts. Those identified in the upper left quadrant are relatively ineffective and create the most adverse effects. After consideration of the information gathered through hearings and comments filed by a wide range of parties, the Commission concludes that no single technology or method will effectively protect children from harmful material online. Rather, the Commission determined that a combination of public education, consumer empowerment technologies and methods, increased enforcement of existing laws, and industry action are needed to address this concern.
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The laws that have been enacted that specifically address children, sorted by issue, are
Child Pornography
Digital Images:
PROTECT Act of 2003: Sought to correct the unconstitutional flaws of the CPPA.
Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA): Sought to make electronic images of child pornography illegal regardless of whether they actually involve a child. Since the articulated government interest is to protect children, if there is no child involved, then the government interest is not met and the censorship is overbroad; this was ruled unconstitutional.
Duty to Report
PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008: Duplicated the reporting requirements of the Child Protection and Sexual Predator Punishment Act of 1998.
Use of Deceptive domain names, embedded words, or digital images to trick people into viewing obscenity or children into viewing content harmful to minors
Children's Online Protection Act (COPA): A congressional response to the Communications Decency Act being ruled unconstitutional, COPA attempted to restrict the transmission of material “harmful to minors” over commercial world wide web sites. Litigation is ongoing but at every stage COPA has been ruled unconstitutional
Sex Offenders
S 431 KIDS Act of 2008 A bill to require convicted sex offenders to register online identifiers, and for other purposes.
Sec. 118 PUBLIC ACCESS TO SEX OFFENDER INFORMATION THROUGH THE INTERNET
Sec. 119: National Sex Offender Registry
Sec. 120: Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website
Sec. 201: Internet Sale Date Rape Drug illegal 21 USC § 841(g)
Educational and Awareness Campaigns
Broadband Data Improvement Act Title II: Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act Sec. 212 calls on the FTC to engage in a public awareness campaign "to promote the safe use of the Internet by children." (This has been criticized as an unfunded mandate [FOSI p 9, 2008]). The FTC already has such a campaign known as OnGuard Online
Broadband Data Improvement Act Title II: Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act Sec. 215 imposes a new requirement on school and libraries that receive subsidies from the FCC's erate program; they must teach Internet safety as a part of their Internet Safety Program. The State of Virginia requires Internet Safety educational programs in schools.
Child Safe Viewing Act:: FCC Report to Congress on Parent Control Technology, Due 270 days after December 2, 2008.
Broadband Data Improvement Act . Title II of Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act, Sec. 213 :: FTC Report on Sec. 103 Activities :: Annual (Editor's note: the reference is confusing and may be to the FTC's Sec. 212 obligation to engage in an Internet Safety public awareness campaign)
Online Safety and Technology Working GroupBroadband Data Improvement Act . Title II of Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act, Sec. 214 :: Report to Congress on online industry's efforts to promote online safety :: Pending.
PROTECT Act of 2008 Title IV Report :: "whether a subject of an online child exploitation investigation poses a high risk of harm to children." :: Pending
CIPA Report :: CIPA called on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce to conduct a study "to evaluate whether currently available Internet blocking or filtering technology measures adequately address the needs of educational institutions and to evaluate the effectiveness of children's Internet safety policies." :: Completed 2002
COPA Commission Report :: for the purpose of conducting a study "regarding methods to help reduce access by minors to material that is harmful to minors on the Internet." :: Completed 2000
National Academies Report :: as a part of the Protection of Children From Sexual Predators Act, Congress requested that the National Academies of Sciences produce a report "to conduct a study of computer-based technologies and other approaches to the problem of the availability of pornographic material to children on the Internet." :: Completed 2002
S.1492 Broadband Data Improvement Act Title: A bill to improve the quality of federal and state data regarding the availability and quality of broadband services and to promote the deployment of affordable broadband services to all parts of the Nation. Sponsor: Sen Inouye, Daniel K. [HI] (introduced 5/24/2007) Cosponsors (22) Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 110-385 [GPO: Text , PDF ] Senate Reports: 110-204
Introduced by Sen. Inouye and amended to include Sen. Steven 's Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act ( S. 49 ) - although perhaps in title only as the amendment varied greatly from the original language introduced by Sen. Stevens.
Sec. 212 calls on the FTC to engage in a public awareness campaign "to promote the safe use of the Internet by children." The FTC already has such a campaign known as OnGuard Online
Sec. 213 calls on the FTC to file a Report with Congress with regard to its activities pursuant to Sec. 103 (perhaps a typo).
Sec. 214 calls on the Department of Commerce to establish the Online Safety and Technology Working Group, which will look at industry efforts to promote online safety, and submit a report to congress within one year.
Interestingly, the working group will look at internet services obligation to report online child exploitation pursuant to the 10 year old law, 42 USC 13032 - but not Sen. McCain's new parallel obligation to report online child exploitation pursuant to the new PROTECT Our Children Act - I have previously groused over the intelligence of enacting two similar-but-not-the-same laws, leaving it to industry to pay attorneys lots of money to figure out the ambiguities of complying with both.
The new task force also will look at one of the Attorney General's long desire items, record retention by internet services - but wait! The new McCain Act in fact has a record retention provision in it
Not only was the McCain SAFE Act not harmonized with preexisting law, but it would appear that the McCain SAFE Act was not harmonized with the Steven's Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act.
Sec. 221 amended FCC enforcement authority in order to give the FCC authority to prosecute the transportation, distribution or possession of child pornography.
PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008: Allocated additional funds for law enforcement, and duplicated the reporting requirements of the Child Protection and Sexual Predator Punishment Act of 1998 (legislative background info on the PROTECT Act 2008 webpage)
PROTECT Act of 2003: Sought to correct the unconstitutional flaws of the CPPA.
included the Truth in Domain Names Act of 2003 - which makes it criminal to use domain names to trick people into seeing obscenity or children into seeing content harmful to minors.
Children's Online Protection Act (COPA): A congressional response to the Communications Decency Act being ruled unconstitutional, COPA attempted to restrict the transmission of material “harmful to minors” over commercial world wide web sites. Litigation is ongoing but at every stage COPA has been ruled unconstitutional
Children's Internet Protection Act(CIPA): CIPA requires that schools and libraries which receive subsidies from the FCC ERate program have in place an Internet Safety Program.
Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA): Sought to make electronic images of child pornography illegal regardless of whether they actually involve a child. Since the articulated government interest is to protect children, if there is no child involved, then the government interest is not met and the censorship is overbroad; this was ruled unconstitutional.
NetSmartz: "The NetSmartz Workshop is an interactive, educational safety resource from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children ® (NCMEC) and Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) for children aged 5 to 17, parents, guardians, educators, and law enforcement that uses age-appropriate, 3-D activities to teach children how to stay safer on the Internet."
Common Sense Media : "Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families. We exist because media and entertainment profoundly impact the social, emotional, and physical development of our nation's children. As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, we provide trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume."
Internet Safety Technical Task Force " The Task Force, comprised of leading Internet businesses and organizations, will focus on identifying effective online safety tools and technologies that can be used by many companies across multiple platforms. " Berkman Press Release Feb. 2008.
iSAFE: " i-SAFE Inc. is the worldwide leader in Internet safety education. Founded in 1998 and endorsed by the U.S. Congress, i-SAFE is a non-profit foundation dedicated to protecting the online experiences of youth everywhere. i-SAFE incorporates classroom curriculum with dynamic community outreach to empower students, teachers, parents, law enforcement, and concerned adults to make the Internet a safer place. Please join us today in the fight to safeguard our children's online experience."
Safe Surfing USA Foundation: " works to educate the public about Internet crimes against children and how communities can protect their children from becoming victims. "
Teach Today EU "TeachToday provides resources for teachers on the responsible and safe use of new communications technologies."
WiredSafety: " WiredSafety provides help, information and education to Internet and mobile device users of all ages. We help victims of cyberabuse ranging from online fraud, cyberstalking and child safety, to hacking and malicious code attacks. We also help parents with issues, such as MySpace and cyberbullying."
WebWiseKids : "is about empowering today's youth to make wise choices online. Through state-of-the-art Internet Safety computer games (based on real-life scenarios) as well as Internet Safety tips for kids, teens and parents, Web Wise Kids creates a safer, friendlier internet experience. These, coupled with involvement of community, youth leaders and parents, provides an environment where your child's Internet Safety becomes their first line of defense while navigating through cyberspace."