Congress spanks naughty sex sites

Congress spanks naughty sex sites

By Declan McCullagh , news.com; July 26 2006

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill that
would make it a federal felony for Webmasters to use innocent words
like "Barbie" or "Furby" but actually feature sexual content on
their sites.

Anyone who includes misleading "words" or "images" intended to
confuse a minor into viewing a possibly harmful Web site could be
imprisoned for up to 20 years and fined, the bill says.

Because the U.S. Senate already approved the measure in a voice vote
last week, it now goes to President Bush for his signature. Bush,
who previously endorsed the bill, has scheduled a signing ceremony
for Thursday afternoon on the White House grounds.

"America's children will be better protected from every parent's
worst nightmare--sexual predators--thanks to passage" of the
legislation, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in a statement
on Tuesday.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, in a statement issued after the
House approved the bill by voice vote, said: "We've all seen the
disturbing headlines about sex offenders and crimes against
children. These crimes cannot persist. Protecting our children from
Internet predators and child exploitation enterprises are just as
high a priority as securing our border from terrorists."

The 163-page Child Protection and Safety Act represents the most
extensive rewriting of federal laws relating to child pornography,
sex offender registration and child exploitation in a decade.

If the bill becomes law, it's not clear which Webmasters would
become federal felons. Sites like Kontraband.com, which show Barbie
and Ken dolls having simulated sex, could be in trouble, depending
on how prosecutors and juries interpret the language. (Kontraband
offers video clips and photographs, some of which are racy.)

Kontraband.com representative Dylan Close said in an e-mail message
to CNET News.com that he was familiar with the congressional
legislation and that the site already rates the pages using a system
borrowed from the British Board of Film Classification. For
instance, a page showing topless images was marked as not safe for
work. Close also said that the site's Barbie and Ken clip was
intended for adults and older teenagers, not children.

Also, Close said, "we are increasing the level of awareness and
differentiation between our levels of safe and not safe content."

A key phrase in the legislation (click for PDF) promises prison time
only if a Webmaster has the "intent to deceive" a casual visitor.

In addition, the Child Protection and Safety Act, or Walsh Act
(named for Adam Walsh, who was abducted and murdered in 1981 at 6
years old), would:

Punish the intentional Internet sale or distribution of "date rape
drugs" by making the act a new federal crime with up to 20 years in
prison. The list of offending drugs would include gamma
hydroxybutyric acid (sometimes called liquid ecstasy), ketamine, and
flunitrazepam (better-known under the trade name Rohypnol).

Force sex offenders to provide a DNA sample, a requirement that
many states already have adopted.

Create a national sex offender registry to be run by the FBI, with
"relevant information" on each person. It's supposed to permit
geographical lookups based on ZIP code.

Fund a series of pilot programs, lasting up to three years, to tag
sex offenders with tracking devices that would let them be monitored
in real time. The devices would include a GPS downlink (to provide
exact coordinates), a cellular uplink (to transmit the coordinates
to police), and two-way voice communications.

Separately, the Senate is expected to vote this year on a related
but broader proposal dealing with Web labeling. That legislation
says that Web site operators posting sexually explicit information
must slap warning labels on their pages or face prison terms of up
to five years.

	Punish the intentional Internet sale or distribution of "date rape drugs" by making the act a new federal crime with up to 20 years in prison. The list of offending drugs would include gamma hydroxybutyric acid (sometimes called liquid ecstasy), ketamine, and flunitrazepam (better-known under the trade name Rohypnol).
	Force sex offenders to provide a DNA sample, a requirement that many states already have adopted.
	Create a national sex offender registry to be run by the FBI, with "relevant information" on each person. It's supposed to permit geographical lookups based on ZIP code.
	Fund a series of pilot programs, lasting up to three years, to tag sex offenders with tracking devices that would let them be monitored in real time. The devices would include a GPS downlink (to provide exact coordinates), a cellular uplink (to transmit the coordinates to police), and two-way voice communications.