If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. COMPUTER P~:c,~PH AND CHI 99-536 EXPLOITATION PRE¥ENTION ACT I ! HEARING BEFORE THE SUBOOMMITTEE ON JUVENILE JUSTIOE OF THE OOMMITTEE ON THE JUDIOIARY UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON s. 1305 A BILL TO AMEND TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE, TO ESTABLISH CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR THE TRANSMISSION BY COMPUTER OF OB· SCENE MATTER, OR BY COMPUTER OR OTHER MEANS, OF MATTER PRR'T'ATNTNG TO THE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN, AND FOR POSES OCTOBER I, 1985 60 Serial No. J-99-59 ~ rinted for the use of the Committee on the, Judiciary '1 tta~3BS. i .' -.. e I _U A C,Q. U',ll &11n·ON S '"~ U,S. GbVERNMEN'r PRINTING OFFICE '- WASHINGTON: 19116 COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY STROM THURMOND, South Carolina, Chairman CHARLES McC. MATHIAS, JR., Maryland JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR" Del~.ware PAUL LAXALT, Nevada EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia ALAN K. SIMPSON, Wyoming HOWARD M. METZENBAUM, Ohio JOHN p, EAST, North Carolina DENNIS DECONCINI, Arizona CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont JEREMIAH DENTON, Alabama HOWELL HEFLIN, Alabama ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania PAUL SIMON, Illinois MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky DENNIS W. SHEDD, Chief Counsel and Staff Director DIANA L. WATERMAN, General Counsel DEBORAH G. BERNSTEIN, Chief Clerk MARK H. GITENSTEIN, Minority Chief Counsel SUBCOMMITTEE ON JUVENILE JUSTICE ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania, Chairman JEREMIAH DENTON, Alabama PAUL SIMON, Illinois CHARLES McC. MATHIAS, JR., Maryland HOWARD M. METZENBAUM, Ohio MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky NEAL S. MANNE, Counsel and Staff Director LAURIE WESTLEY, Minority Chief Coullsel (II) U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating it. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or pOlicies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this oo~yrighted material has been granted by Public Dornain/Carnni ttee on the Judlciary/United States Senate to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permis­ sion of the ~ owner. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office WashingtOn. D.C. 20·102 ------------- CONTENTS OPENING STATEMENTS Page Trible, Hon. Paul S., Jr., a U.s. Senator from the State of Virginia..................... 1 Denton, Hon. Jeremiah, a U.S. Senator from the State of Alabama..................... 20 Specter, Hon. Arlen, a U.S. Senator from the State of Pennsylvania, chair- man, Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice ................................................................. 23 McConnell, Hon. Mitch, a U.S. Senator from the State of Kentucky.................... 27 PROPOSED LEGISLATION S. 1305-Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 1985 ..... ,.............. ,........................ ,... ,..................... ,......................................................... 4 CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES Lippe, Lawrence, Chief, General Litigation and Legal Advice Section, Crimi- nal Division, U.s. Department of Justice ................................................................ 21 Smith, Hon. Jack D., General Counsel, Federal Communications Commission.. 28 Hudson, Hon. Henry, commonwealth's attorney, Arlington, VA; and Robert J. Humphreys, chief deputy commonwealth's attorney, Virginia Beach, VA...... 31 Taylor, Bruce A., general counsel, Citizens for Decency Through Law, Inc., Phoenix, AZ ............... ,..... ,...................................................................... ,...................... 37 Hartman, Paul M., U.S. Postal Inspection Service ................................................... 46 Minot, George, Videotex Industry Association; and Thomas S. Warrick, Wash­ ington Apple Pi Computer Users' Association, accompanied by Joseph W. Chelena ............. ,............................................................................................................ 50 Lynn, Barry W., legislative counsel, American Civil Liberties Union .................. 73 ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND MATERlALS SUBMITTED Denton, Hon. Jeremiah: Statement of Kenneth V. Lanning .............. ,.................. .. 9 Hartman, Paul M.: Testimony ........ ,.............................................................. ,.............. 46 Hudson, Hon. Henry: Testimony ... ,......................................................... ,.................. .. 31 Humphreys, Robert J.: Testimony ......................................................... ,....................................................... 32 Prepared statement .................. ,..................... ,.... ,....................... ,..................... ,.... 35 Lippe, Lawrence: Testimony .................................................................................... ,.... 21 Lynn, Barry W.: Testimony .......................................................................................... 73 Minot, George: Testimony ............................ ,..................... ,......................................................... ,.... 50 Text of bill drafted by VIA ..................... ,............................ ,................................ .. 53 Smith, Hon. Jack D.: Testimony ................................................ ,................................. 28 Taylor, Bruce A.: Testimony ................................................................................................................ .. 37 Prepared statement .......................... ' ............................ ,............................ ,........... 41 Warrick, Thomas S.: Testimony ....... ,............. ,........ ,........................................ " ............................ ,........... 59 .. Prepared statement of William J. Cook ..................... ,........................................ , 61 (Ill) IV APPENDIX Page Statement of the American Sunbathing Association, Inc ...................................... .. 81 Gallup poll-Most Americans Approve of Nude Recreation .................................. 88 Ohio Rev. Code .... ~ ........................................................................................................... 90 State of Ohio, plaintiff v. George and Linda Robinson, defendants ..................... .. 91 Letter to Senator Laxalt from Sheldon Elliot Steinbach, general counsel, American Council on Education ............................................................................... 96 Statement of Walter R. Kurth, president of Associated Credit Bureaus, Inc ... ,.. 98 • • ----------------- - - COMPUTER PORNOGRAPHY AND CHILD EXPLOITATION PREVENTION ACT TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1985 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON JUVENILE JUSTICE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in room 385, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Arlen Specter (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Also present: Senators Denton, McConnell, and Trible. Staff present: Richard D. Holcomb (Senator Denton); Vic Maddox (Senator McConnell)i Tracy McGee and Neal Manne (Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice); and Darren Trigonoplos (Senator Trible). Senator DENTON. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this hearing on S. 1305, the Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act of 1985. Senator Specter, the subcommittee chairman, is testifying and has requested that I open the hearing in accordance with previous arrangements, turn the chair over to the sponsor of the bill, my friend and colleague from Virginia, Senator Trible. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. PAUL S. TRIBLE, JR., A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF VIRGINIA Senator TRIBLE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The subcommittee is meeting today to receive testimony on the Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act, a bill I have sponsored together with Senator Denton and 12 other Senators. Senator Specter, the distinguished chairman of the Juve­ nile Justice Subcommittee, has asked that I chair today's hearing, and I am happy to oblige. Today's hearing will address the use of computers and other means of interstate communications to facilitate crimes of child • sexual abuse and child pornography, and to transport obscene matter. Today's witnesses include Lawrence Lippe, Chief of the General Litigation Section of the Criminal Division, U.S. Justice Depart­ ment; the Honorable Jack D. Smith, General Counsel to the Feder­ al Communications Commission; the Honorable Henry Hudson, Commonwealth's attorney from Arlington, VA, and Chairman of the Attorney General's Commission on PornographYi Mr. Robert J. Humphreys, chief deputy Commonwealth's attorney from Virginia Beach, VA; Mr. Paul Hartman, an inspector with the U.S. Postal (1) --- --~-.--------------------------' 2 Service; Mr. Bruce A. Taylor, an attorney with Citizens for Decen­ cy Through Law; Mr. George Minot, the chairman of the Rxecutive Affairs Council, Videotex Industries Association; Mr. Thomas War­ rick, president of the Washington Apple Pi Computer Users Asso­ ciation; and Mr. Barry W. Lynn, legislative counsel to the Ameri­ can Civil Liberties Union. The subcommittee will also receive writ­ ten testimony from Mr. Paul J. McGeady, general counsel to Mo­ rality in Media, Inc. The principal issue before us is the use of interstate means of communications