[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2472 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2472
To protect children from unsolicited e-mail smut containing sexually
oriented advertisements offensive to minors.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 11, 2001
Ms. Lofgren introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Science, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and
Commerce, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect children from unsolicited e-mail smut containing sexually
oriented advertisements offensive to minors.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Children From E-Mail Smut
Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND POLICY.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) Congress recognized that the Nation had a compelling
interest in preventing minors from being exposed to mailings
containing sexually oriented advertisements when it enacted
title 39, United States Code, section 3010, and title 18,
United States Code, sections 1735 and 1737.
(2) Congress required anyone sending a mailing containing
sexually oriented advertisements to place a mark or notice
prescribed by the Postal Service on the mailing envelope or
cover.
(3) E-mails may contain the same kind of sexually oriented
advertisements harmful to minors but there is presently no
comparable requirement that e-mails contain any marking or
notice to alert the recipient that the e-mail contains sexually
oriented advertisements.
(4) Requiring a marking or notice that an e-mail contains
sexually oriented advertisements will enable the parents of
minors to take the necessary steps to block such material and
thus protect their children from being exposed to such sexually
oriented advertisements.
(5) The National Institute of Standards and Technology
(hereinafter in this Act referred to as NIST), a nonregulatory
agency within the Commerce Department's Technology
Administration, is technologically competent to prescribe marks
or other signifiers that an e-mail contains sexually oriented
advertisements.
(b) Congressional Determination of Public Policy.--On the basis of
the findings in subsection (a), the Congress determines that--
(1) there is substantial government interest in the
regulation of unsolicited e-mails containing sexually oriented
advertisements that are forwarded to children; and
(2) the best method to regulate such unsolicited e-mails is
to enable the children or parents acting on behalf of the
children to screen or block such unsolicited e-mails using
marks or signifiers prescribed by the NIST.
SEC. 3. CRIMINAL PROHIBITION AGAINST SENDING SEXUALLY ORIENTED MATERIAL
TO CHILDREN WITHOUT THE PRESCRIBED MARKINGS OR NOTICE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the NIST shall prescribe marks or notices to be
included or affixed to any e-mail that contains a sexually oriented
advertisement forwarded to children. Such marks shall, to the extent
possible, be made so that they may not be removed or altered.
(b) Punishment.--Whoever willfully and knowingly forwards to a
minor an e-mail, that is carried on an instrumentality in or affecting
interstate or foreign commerce, that includes sexually oriented
advertisements but does not include the mark or notice as prescribed by
the NIST in subsection (a) of this section shall be fined under this
Act or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
(c) Punishment.--Whoever reproduces or manufactures any sexually
related mail matter, intending or knowing that such matter will be
forwarded to a minor in an e-mail in violation of subsection (b) of
this section, shall be fined under this Act or imprisoned not more than
5 years, or both, for the first offense, and shall be fined under this
Act or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both, for any second, or
subsequent offense. As used in this section the term ``sexually related
mail matter'' means any matter described in subsection (d) of this
section.
(d) Definition.--The term ``sexually oriented advertisement'' means
any advertisement that depicts, in actual or simulated form, or
explicitly describes, in a predominantly sexual context, human
genitalia, any act of natural or unnatural sexual intercourse, any act
of sadism or masochism, or any other erotic subject directly related to
the foregoing. Material otherwise within the definition of this
subsection shall be deemed not to constitute a sexually oriented
advertisement if it constitutes only a small and insignificant part of
the whole, the remainder of which is not primarily devoted to sexual
matters.
SEC. 4. CIVIL RELIEF: DAMAGES.
(a) In General.--Any parent of a minor may sue and recover damages
and attorney's fees and court costs from whomever violates any
provision of this Act. In lieu of actual damages, the parent may
recover $10,000 for each and every violation.
(b) Limitation.--The parent shall not have a cause of action
against the electronic mail service provider for merely transmitting
the offending e-mail.
(c) Confidential Procedure.--At the request of any party to an
action brought pursuant to this section, the court may, in its
discretion, conduct all legal proceedings in such a way as to protect
the secrecy and security of the computer, computer network, computer
data, computer program, and computer software involved in order to
prevent possible recurrence of the same or a similar act by another
person and to protect any trade secrets of any party.
(d) Effect on Additional Remedies.--This section does not limit any
parent's right to pursue any additional civil remedy otherwise allowed
at law or equity.
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