[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1482 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1482

 To amend section 223 of the Communications Act of 1934 to establish a 
    prohibition on commercial distribution on the World Wide Web of 
      material that is harmful to minors, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 8, 1997

   Mr. Coats introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend section 223 of the Communications Act of 1934 to establish a 
    prohibition on commercial distribution on the World Wide Web of 
      material that is harmful to minors, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTION ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB 
              OF MATERIAL THAT IS HARMFUL TO MINORS.

    (a) Prohibition.--
            (1) In general.--Section 223 of the Communications Act of 
        1934 (47 U.S.C. 223) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), (g), and 
                (h) as subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i), 
                respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (d) the following 
                new subsection (e):
    ``(e)(1) Whoever in interstate or foreign commerce in or through 
the World Wide Web is engaged in the business of the commercial 
distribution of material that is harmful to minors shall restrict 
access to such material by persons under 17 years of age.
    ``(2) Any person who violates paragraph (1) shall be fined not more 
than $50,000, imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
    ``(3) In addition to the penalties under paragraph (2), whoever 
intentionally violates paragraph (1) shall be subject to a fine of not 
more than $50,000 for each violation. For purposes of this paragraph, 
each day of violation shall constitute a separate violation.
    ``(4) In addition to the penalties under paragraphs (2) and (3), 
whoever violates paragraph (1) shall be subject to a civil fine of not 
more than $50,000 for each violation. For purposes of this paragraph, 
each day of violation shall constitute a separate violation.
    ``(5) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this 
subsection that the defendant restricted access to material that is 
harmful to minors by persons under 17 years of age by requiring use of 
a verified credit card, debit account, adult access code, or adult 
personal identification number or in accordance with such other 
procedures as the Commission may prescribe.
    ``(6) This subsection may not be construed to authorize the 
Commission to regulate in any manner the content of any information 
provided on the World Wide Web.
    ``(7) For purposes of this subsection:
            ``(A) The term `material that is harmful to minors' means 
        any communication, picture, image, graphic image file, article, 
        recording, writing, or other matter of any kind that--
                    ``(i) taken as a whole and with respect to minors, 
                appeals to a prurient interest in nudity, sex, or 
                excretion;
                    ``(ii) depicts, describes, or represents, in a 
                patently offensive way with respect to what is suitable 
                for minors, an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual 
                contact, actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual 
                acts, or a lewd exhibition of the genitals; and
                    ``(iii) lacks serious literary, artistic, 
                political, or scientific value.
            ``(B) The terms `sexual act' and `sexual contact' have the 
        meanings assigned such terms in section 2246 of title 18, 
        United States Code.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Subsection (g) of such section, 
        as so redesignated, is amended by striking ``(e), or (f)'' and 
        inserting ``(f), or (g)''.
    (b) Availability on Internet of Definition of Material That Is 
Harmful to Minors.--The Attorney General, in the case of the Internet 
web site of the Department of Justice, and the Federal Communications 
Commission, in the case of the Internet web site of the Commission, 
shall each post or otherwise make available on such web site such 
information as is necessary to inform the public of the meaning of the 
term ``material that is harmful to minors'' under section 223(e) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended by subsection (a) of this 
section.
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