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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 433 007 IR 019 733 TITLE Legislative Proposals To Protect Children from Inappropriate Materials on the Internet. Hearing on H.R. 3783, H.R. 774, H.R. 1180, H.R. 1964, H.R. 3177, and H.R. 3442 before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the Committee on Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session. INSTITUTION Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Commerce. ISBN ISBN-0-16-057747-0 PUB DATE 1998-09-11 NOTE 90p.; Serial No. 105-119. AVAILABLE FROM U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402. PUB TYPE Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials (090) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Access to Information; Censorship; Children; Elementary Secondary Education; Federal Legislation; Federal Regulation; Freedom of Speech; Hearings; *Information Policy; *Internet; *Obscenity; *Pornography; Public Policy; Standards; Users (Information) IDENTIFIERS Child Pornography; *Child Protection; Congress 105th; Filters ABSTRACT This hearing addresses legislative proposals to protect children from inappropriate materials on the Internet. Among the issues discussed are federal investments and information access, defining standards for protection, child pornography and marketing to children, filtering technology and adult verification services, and freedom of speech. Included are the statements of: Laith Paul Alsarraf, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Cybernet Ventures, Inc.; John Bastian, CEO, Security Software Systems, Inc.; Jerry Berman, Director, Center for Democracy and Technology; Dan Coats, U.S. Senator from Indiana; Jeffrey J. Douglas, Executive Director, Free Speech Coalition; Bob Franks, Representative from New Jersey; Agnes M. Griffen, Director, TucsonPima Public Library; Ernest J. Istook, Representative from Oklahoma; Andrew L. Kupser, CEO, Northwest Internet Services, LLC; Mary Anne Layden, Center for Cognitive Therapy, Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania; Lawrence Lessig, Professor, Harvard Law School; Peter Nickerson, CEO, N2H2; Stephen R. Wiley, Chief, Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Section, Federal Bureau of Investigation.(AEF) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS TO PROTECT CHILDREN 8 FROM INAPPROPRIATE MATES ON 111E INTERNET pr HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TRADE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON H.R. 3783, H.R. 774, H.R. 1180,- H.R. 1964, H.R. 3177, and H.R. 3442 SEPTEMBER 11, 1998 Serial No. 105-119 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) I This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. (v) U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE CO 50-939CC WASHINGTON : 1998 For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402 ISBN 0-16-057747-0 BEST COPYAVAILABLE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE TOM BLILEY, Virginia, Chairman W.J. 'slur TAUZIN, Louisiana JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan MICHAEL G. OXLEY, Ohio HENRY A. WAXMAN, California MICHAEL BILIRAKIS, Florida EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts DAN SCHAEFER, Colorado RALPH M. HALL, Texas JOE BARTON, Texas RICK BOUCHER, Virginia J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois THOMAS J. MANTON, New York FRED UPTON, Michigan EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York CLIFF STEARNS, Florida FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey BILL PAXON, New York SHERROD BROWN, Ohio PAUL E. GILLMOR, Ohio BART GORDON, Tennessee Vice Chairman ELIZABETH FURSE, Oregon JAMES C. GREENWOOD, Pennsylvania PETER DEUTSCH, Florida MICHAEL D. CRAPO, Idaho BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois CHRISTOPHER COX, California ANNA G. ESHOO, California NATHAN DEAL, Georgia RON KLINK, Pennsylvania STEVE LARGENT, Oklahoma BART STUPAK, Michigan RICHARD BURR, North Carolina ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York BRIAN P. BILBRAY, California THOMAS C. SAWYER, Ohio ED WHITFIELD, Kentucky ALBERT R WYNN, Maryland GREG GANSKE, Iowa GENE GREEN, Texas CHARLIE NORWOOD, Georgia KAREN McCARTHY, Missouri RICK WHITE, Washington TED STRICKLAND, Ohio TOM COBURN, Oklahoma DIANA DEGETTE, Colorado RICK LAZIO, New York BARBARA CUBIN, Wyoming JAMES E. ROGAN, California JOHN SHIMKUS, Alinois HEATHER WILSON, New Mexico JAMES E. DERDERIAN, Chief of Staff CHARLES L. INGEBRETSON, General Counsel REID P.F. STUNTS, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TRADE, AND CONSUMERPROTECTION W.J. "BILLY" TAUZIN, Louisiana, Chairman MICHAEL G. OXLEY, Ohio, EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts Vice Chairman RICK BOUCHER, Virginia DAN SCHAEFER, Colorado BART GORDON, Tennessee JOE BARTON, Texas ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois THOMAS C. SAWYER, Ohio FRED UPTON, Michigan THOMAS J. MANTON, New York CLIFF STEARNS, Florida BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois PAUL E. GILLMOR, Ohio ANNA G. ESHOO, California CHRISTOPHER COX, California RON KLINK, Pennsylvania NATHAN DEAL, Georgia ALBERT R. WYNN, Maryland STEVE LARGENT, Oklahoma GENE GREEN, Texas RICK WHITE, Washington KAREN McCARTHY, Missouri JAMES E. ROGAN, California JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan, JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois (Ex Officio) HEATHER WILSON, New Mexico TOM BLILEY, Virginia, (Ex Officio) (1) 3 CONTENTS Page Testimony of: Alsarraf, Laith Paul, President and CEO, Cybemet Ventures, Inc 50 Bastian, John, Chief Executive Officer, Security Software Systems Inc 68 Berman, Jerry, Director, Center for Democracy and Technology 34 Coats, Hon. Dan, a United States Senator from the State of Indiana 1 Douglas, Jeffrey J., Executive Director, Free Speech Coalition 44 Franks, Hon. Bob, a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey 17 Griffen, Agnes M., Director, Tucson-Pima Public Library 70 Istook, Hon. Ernest J., Jr., a Representative in Congress from the State of Oklahoma 18 Kupser, Andrew L., Chief Executive Officer, Northwest Internet Services, LLC 65 Layden, Mary Anne, Center for Cognitive, Therapy, Department of Psy- chology, University of Pennsylvania 53 Lessig, Lawrence, Professor, Harvard Law School 57 Nickerson, Peter, Chief Executive. Officer, N2H2 61 Wiley, Stephen R., Chief, Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Section, Federal Bureau of. Investigations 24 LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS TO PROTECT CHIL- DREN FROM INAPPROPRIATE MATERIALS ON THE INTERNET FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1998 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TRADE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:30 a.m. in room 2123, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Michael G. Oxley, pre- siding. Members present: Representatives Oxley, Hastert, Cox, White, Shimkus, Wilson, Markey, Sawyer, Wynn, and Green. Also present: Representative Greenwood. Staff present: John Morabito, majority counsel; Aahony Habib, legislative clerk; and Andy Levin, minority counsel. Mr. OXLEY The subcommittee will come to order. In the absence of the chairman, who is apparently under the weather, I will take the Chair. We will waive the original opening statements for now until we have an opportunity to hear from Sen- ator Coats. Senator Coats, if you can come forward. The Senator has a vote on the floor of the Senate, and so we will go out of order a bit and take his testimony. We welcome Senator Coats from Indiana, our former colleague in the House and also on the Commerce Committee, and he has shown great leadership on the COPA legislation, and we are hoping to replicate his efforts on the House side as well. A warm welcome from your former colleagues on the Commerce Committee, although there are very few of us left. Welcome. STATEMENT OF HON. DAN COATS, A UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF INDIANA Senator COATS. Thank you. It is a distinct, pleasure to come back to this room where I spent, along with you and the esteemed chair- man, a lot of hours, most of them on the lower tier, I would say, and so it is particularly pleasing to come back and see one of my former colleagues here in the House occupying the chair, and I ap- preciate the opportunity to come and testify to you today. I apologize for asking to go out of order. We are in the midst in some votes in the Senate, just having completed the cloture vote, and then another vote is pending. (1) 2 On November 8 of last year, I introduced S. 1482, which has been subsequently unanimously adopted by the Senate and at- tached to our Commerce-State-Justice appropriations legislation. This legislation was designed to require commercial pornographers on the Web to restrict access by minors to pornographic material. Subsequently you and Congressman Greenwood on April 30, 1998 introduced counterpart legislation which you will be discussing today. Our efforts are the product of a Supreme Court ruling in Reno v. ACLU, which struck down the indecency provisions of the Com- munications Decency Act, which Senator Egon and I put together over in the Senate and successfully passed there. However, it did not survive court scrutiny