[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3833 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.3833

                      One Hundred Seventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
          the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two


                                 An Act


 
To facilitate the creation of a new, second-level Internet domain within 
the United States country code domain that will be a haven for material 
 that promotes positive experiences for children and families using the 
Internet, provides a safe online environment for children, and helps to 
prevent children from being exposed to harmful material on the Internet, 
                         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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Dot Kids Implementation and 
Efficiency Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
        (1) the World Wide Web presents a stimulating and entertaining 
    opportunity for children to learn, grow, and develop educationally 
    and intellectually;
        (2) Internet technology also makes available an extensive 
    amount of information that is harmful to children, as studies 
    indicate that a significant portion of all material available on 
    the Internet is related to pornography;
        (3) young children, when trying to use the World Wide Web for 
    positive purposes, are often presented--either mistakenly or 
    intentionally--with material that is inappropriate for their age, 
    which can be extremely frustrating for children, parents, and 
    educators;
        (4) exposure of children to material that is inappropriate for 
    them, including pornography, can distort the education and 
    development of the Nation's youth and represents a serious harm to 
    American families that can lead to a host of other problems for 
    children, including inappropriate use of chat rooms, physical 
    molestation, harassment, and legal and financial difficulties;
        (5) young boys and girls, older teens, troubled youth, frequent 
    Internet users, chat room participants, online risk takers, and 
    those who communicate online with strangers are at greater risk for 
    receiving unwanted sexual solicitation on the Internet;
        (6) studies have shown that 19 percent of youth (ages 10 to 17) 
    who used the Internet regularly were the targets of unwanted sexual 
    solicitation, but less than 10 percent of the solicitations were 
    reported to the police;
        (7) children who come across illegal content should report it 
    to the congressionally authorized CyberTipline, an online mechanism 
    developed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
    Children, for citizens to report sexual crimes against children;
        (8) the CyberTipline has received more than 64,400 reports, 
    including reports of child pornography, online enticement for 
    sexual acts, child molestation (outside the family), and child 
    prostitution;
        (9) although the computer software and hardware industries, and 
    other related industries, have developed innovative ways to help 
    parents and educators restrict material that is harmful to minors 
    through parental control protections and self-regulation, to date 
    such efforts have not provided a national solution to the problem 
    of minors accessing harmful material on the World Wide Web;
        (10) the creation of a ``green-light'' area within the United 
    States country code Internet domain, that will contain only content 
    that is appropriate for children under the age of 13, is analogous 
    to the creation of a children's section within a library and will 
    promote the positive experiences of children and families in the 
    United States; and
        (11) while custody, care, and nurture of the child reside first 
    with the parent, the protection of the physical and psychological 
    well-being of minors by shielding them from material that is 
    harmful to them is a compelling governmental interest.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
        (1) to facilitate the creation of a second-level domain within 
    the United States country code Internet domain for the location of 
    material that is suitable for minors and not harmful to minors; and
        (2) to ensure that the National Telecommunications and 
    Information Administration oversees the creation of such a second-
    level domain and ensures the effective and efficient establishment 
    and operation of the new domain.

SEC. 3. NTIA AUTHORITY.

    Section 103(b)(3) of the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 902(b)(3)) is 
amended--
        (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
        (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and 
    inserting ``; and''; and
        (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(C) shall assign to the NTIA responsibility for providing 
        for the establishment, and overseeing operation, of a second-
        level Internet domain within the United States country code 
        domain in accordance with section 157.''.

SEC. 4. CHILD-FRIENDLY SECOND-LEVEL INTERNET DOMAIN.

    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amended in part C by adding 
at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 157. CHILD-FRIENDLY SECOND-LEVEL INTERNET DOMAIN.

    ``(a) Responsibilities.--The NTIA shall require the registry 
selected to operate and maintain the United States country code 
Internet domain to establish, operate, and maintain a second-level 
domain within the United States country code domain that provides 
access only to material that is suitable for minors and not harmful to 
minors (in this section referred to as the `new domain').
    ``(b) Conditions of Contracts.--
        ``(1) Initial registry.--The NTIA shall not exercise any option 
    periods under any contract between the NTIA and the initial 
    registry to operate and maintain the United States country code 
    Internet domain unless the initial registry agrees, during the 90-
    day period beginning upon the date of the enactment of the Dot Kids 
    Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002, to carry out, and to 
    operate the new domain in accordance with, the requirements under 
    subsection (c). Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
    prevent the initial registry of the United States country code 
    Internet domain from participating in the NTIA's process for 
    selecting a successor registry or to prevent the NTIA from 
    awarding, to the initial registry, the contract to be successor 
    registry subject to the requirements of paragraph (2).
        ``(2) Successor registries.--The NTIA shall not enter into any 
    contract for operating and maintaining the United States country 
    code Internet domain with any successor registry unless such 
    registry enters into an agreement with the NTIA, during the 90-day 
    period after selection of such registry, that provides for the 
    registry to carry out, and the new domain to operate in accordance 
    with, the requirements under subsection (c).
    ``(c) Requirements of New Domain.--The registry and new domain 
shall be subject to the following requirements:
        ``(1) Written content standards for the new domain, except that 
    the NTIA shall not have any authority to establish such standards.
        ``(2) Written agreements with each registrar for the new domain 
    that require that use of the new domain is in accordance with the 
    standards and requirements of the registry.
        ``(3) Written agreements with registrars, which shall require 
    registrars to enter into written agreements with registrants, to 
    use the new domain in accordance with the standards and 
    requirements of the registry.
        ``(4) Rules and procedures for enforcement and oversight that 
    minimize the possibility that the new domain provides access to 
    content that is not in accordance with the standards and 
    requirements of the registry.
        ``(5) A process for removing from the new domain any content 
    that is not in accordance with the standards and requirements of 
    the registry.
        ``(6) A process to provide registrants to the new domain with 
    an opportunity for a prompt, expeditious, and impartial dispute 
    resolution process regarding any material of the registrant 
    excluded from the new domain.
        ``(7) Continuous and uninterrupted service for the new domain 
    during any transition to a new registry selected to operate and 
    maintain new domain or the United States country code domain.
        ``(8) Procedures and mechanisms to promote the accuracy of 
    contact information submitted by registrants and retained by 
    registrars in the new domain.
        ``(9) Operationality of the new domain not later than one year 
    after the date of the enactment of the Dot Kids Implementation and 
    Efficiency Act of 2002.
        ``(10) Written agreements with registrars, which shall require 
    registrars to enter into written agreements with registrants, to 
    prohibit two-way and multiuser interactive services in the new 
    domain, unless the registrant certifies to the registrar that such 
    service will be offered in compliance with the content standards 
    established pursuant to paragraph (1) and is designed to reduce the 
    risk of exploitation of minors using such two-way and multiuser 
    interactive services.
        ``(11) Written agreements with registrars, which shall require 
    registrars to enter into written agreements with registrants, to 
    prohibit hyperlinks in the new domain that take new domain users 
    outside of the new domain.
        ``(12) Any other action that the NTIA considers necessary to 
    establish, operate, or maintain the new domain in accordance with 
    the purposes of this section.
    ``(d) Option Periods for Initial Registry.--The NTIA shall grant 
the initial registry the option periods available under the contract 
between the NTIA and the initial registry to operate and maintain the 
United States country code Internet domain if, and may not grant such 
option periods unless, the NTIA finds that the initial registry has 
satisfactorily performed its obligations under this Act and under the 
contract. Nothing in this section shall preempt or alter the NTIA's 
authority to terminate such contract for the operation of the United 
States country code Internet domain for cause or for convenience.
    ``(e) Treatment of Registry and Other Entities.--
        ``(1) In general.--Only to the extent that such entities carry 
    out functions under this section, the following entities are deemed 
    to be interactive computer services for purposes of section 230(c) 
    of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)):
            ``(A) The registry that operates and maintains the new 
        domain.
            ``(B) Any entity that contracts with such registry to carry 
        out functions to ensure that content accessed through the new 
        domain complies with the limitations applicable to the new 
        domain.
            ``(C) Any registrar for the registry of the new domain that 
        is operating in compliance with its agreement with the 
        registry.
        ``(2) Savings provision.--Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be 
    construed to affect the applicability of any other provision of 
    title II of the Communications Act of 1934 to the entities covered 
    by subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1).
    ``(f) Education.--The NTIA shall carry out a program to publicize 
the availability of the new domain and to educate the parents of minors 
regarding the process for utilizing the new domain in combination and 
coordination with hardware and software technologies that provide for 
filtering or blocking. The program under this subsection shall be 
commenced not later than 30 days after the date that the new domain 
first becomes operational and accessible by the public.
    ``(g) Coordination With Federal Government.--The registry selected 
to operate and maintain the new domain shall--
        ``(1) consult with appropriate agencies of the Federal 
    Government regarding procedures and actions to prevent minors and 
    families who use the new domain from being targeted by adults and 
    other children for predatory behavior, exploitation, or illegal 
    actions; and
        ``(2) based upon the consultations conducted pursuant to 
    paragraph (1), establish such procedures and take such actions as 
    the registry may deem necessary to prevent such targeting.
The consultations, procedures, and actions required under this 
subsection shall be commenced not later than 30 days after the date 
that the new domain first becomes operational and accessible by the 
public.
    ``(h) Compliance Report.--The registry shall prepare, on an annual 
basis, a report on the registry's monitoring and enforcement procedures 
for the new domain. The registry shall submit each such report, setting 
forth the results of the review of its monitoring and enforcement 
procedures for the new domain, to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate.
    ``(i) Suspension of New Domain.--If the NTIA finds, pursuant to its 
own review or upon a good faith petition by the registry, that the new 
domain is not serving its intended purpose, the NTIA shall instruct the 
registry to suspend operation of the new domain until such time as the 
NTIA determines that the new domain can be operated as intended.
    ``(j) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
        ``(1) Harmful to minors.--The term `harmful to minors' means, 
    with respect to material, that--
            ``(A) the average person, applying contemporary community 
        standards, would find, taking the material as a whole and with 
        respect to minors, that it is designed to appeal to, or is 
        designed to pander to, the prurient interest;
            ``(B) the material depicts, describes, or represents, in a 
        manner patently offensive with respect to minors, an actual or 
        simulated sexual act or sexual contact, an actual or simulated 
        normal or perverted sexual act, or a lewd exhibition of the 
        genitals or post-pubescent female breast; and
            ``(C) taken as a whole, the material lacks serious, 
        literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
        ``(2) Minor.--The term `minor' means any person under 13 years 
    of age.
        ``(3) Registry.--The term `registry' means the registry 
    selected to operate and maintain the United States country code 
    Internet domain.
        ``(4) Successor registry.--The term `successor registry' means 
    any entity that enters into a contract with the NTIA to operate and 
    maintain the United States country code Internet domain that covers 
    any period after the termination or expiration of the contract to 
    operate and maintain the United States country code Internet 
    domain, and any option periods under such contract, that was signed 
    on October 26, 2001.
        ``(5) Suitable for minors.--The term `suitable for minors' 
    means, with respect to material, that it--
            ``(A) is not psychologically or intellectually 
        inappropriate for minors; and
            ``(B) serves--
                ``(i) the educational, informational, intellectual, or 
            cognitive needs of minors; or
                ``(ii) the social, emotional, or entertainment needs of 
            minors.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.