web porn
Senate Drafts Bill to Protect
Kids from Web Porn
By Wendy Griffith
CBN News Sr. Reporter
CBN.com –
(CBN News) - A disturbing new report found that kids are a top
target of pornographers. Some lawmakers have proposed legislation
that would make it more difficult for pornographers to lure kids
to their Web sites.
The number of online pornography sites is skyrocketing -- and
kids have easier access now than ever, because of cell phones
and wireless laptops.
One young boy said, "I know my brother knows, I think my
dad knows, and I think my mom's oblivious to the fact that I look
at porn."
And a recent report said most porn sites barely even try to keep
minors away.
"They say don't proceed if under 18. So you just click,
yes I'm 18," one pre-teen boy explained.
It turns out that children between the ages of 12 and 17 are
frequent viewers of Internet porn, and the average age at which
children are first exposed to online porn is 11 years old.
That is why a group of Democrat lawmakers, including Arkansas
Senator Blanche Lincoln, want to crack down.
"Right now, to purchase alcohol, cigarettes, or adult magazines
at your local convenience store, proper identification is required
by law,” Lincoln said. “Therefore, it is just plain
common sense to do the same thing for the Internet."
Their proposed bill would require porn sites to install federally
approved age verification software that asks users for more detailed
information, such as driver’s license or social security
numbers.
It would also institute a 25-percent tax on all Internet porn
transactions--money that would be used to fight child pornography.
But experts say that the proposed new law may not be enough.
E-mails, instant messages, and pop-up ads reach out to kids and
lead them to pornographic sites.
“It's not about kids finding pornography,” said consumer
adviser Regina Lewis of America Online, “it’s about
pornographers finding kids."
"How is it then that so many of these sites are misspellings
of names like Disney Land, Teletubbies, and Pokemon? Is this just
an accident, or is this a strategy for reaching our kids?"
Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) asked.
The multi-billion dollar pornography industry claims that the
legislation is unconstitutional.
But lawmakers say that protecting children from obscene material
is not censorship, just common sense. And they say it is time
to shift the cost of protecting our children online from the American
taxpayer to the pornographers themselves.
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