1.This Act may be cited as
the Cyber Safety for Kids Act of
2006
.
2.Establishment of
top-level Internet domain name
(a)Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, shall—
(1)pursuant to the
authority under section II.B. of the Memorandum of Understanding Between the
United States Department of Commerce and ICANN, entered into on November 25,
1998, regarding oversight of the policy for determining the circumstances under
which new top-level Internet domains are added to the root system, jointly with
ICANN, develop a plan in accordance with section 102 for ICANN to establish a
new domain meeting the requirements in subsection (b);
(2)upon completion
of the plan developed under paragraph (1), make such plan publicly
available;
(3)enter into any
memorandums of understanding, agreements, and contracts with ICANN, as may be
necessary to carry out the plan developed under paragraph (1); and
(4)make any
amendments to any existing memorandums of understandings, agreements, and
contracts with ICANN, as may be necessary to carry out the plan developed under
paragraph (1).
(b)Requirements
for new domainThe new domain established under subsection (a)
shall be subject to the following requirements:
(1)Top-level,
International domain
(A)The new domain shall be established as a top-level,
International domain having a domain name appropriate for its purpose.
(B)The new domain shall have domain name that ends in a
manner that allows a user of the Internet to understand that by accessing such
domain, a user is likely to view material that is harmful to minors, such as
domain name ending in .xxx.
(2)The entity selected pursuant to section 3 to establish,
operate, and maintain the new domain shall—
(A)establish,
operate, and maintain the new domain in accordance with this subsection;
and
(B)provide for the
creation of an independent board, with diverse membership, which shall be
responsible for—
(i)establishing
written criteria for—
(I)accepting
registrants for the new domain; and
(II)any limitations
applicable to the new domain; and
(ii)ensuring that
subscription rates or fees for obtaining a name for the new domain are as
minimal as possible.
(3)The plan developed under subsection (a) may include
such other requirements with respect to the new domain as the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration and ICANN jointly consider
appropriate.
3.Selection of
operator of new domain
(a)The plan developed under section 2(a) shall establish a
process for soliciting applications for the establishment of the new domain
described in section 2, which process shall—
(1)commence and
complete not later than 60 days after the expiration of the 30-day period
referred to in section 2(a);
(2)provide adequate
notice to prospective applicants of—
(A)the opportunity
to submit an application; and
(B)the criteria for
selection under subsection (b)(1);
(3)include a fee for
filing an application that does not exceed the minimum amount reasonably
estimated by ICANN to be necessary to recover its expenses under section 2 and
this section; and
(4)provide for
reimbursement to applicants of any amounts collected in filing fees that exceed
the actual amount of expenses of ICANN under section 2 and this section.
(b)
(1)The plan developed under section 2(a) shall establish a
process for selection, from applications submitted pursuant to subsection (a),
of an application for the establishment of the new domain meeting the
requirements under section 2(b).
(2)The
selection process described in paragraph (1) shall comply with the following
requirements:
(A)The
selection shall be made pursuant to written, objective criteria designed to
ensure that—
(i)the
new domain is established, operated, and maintained in accordance with the
requirements under section 2(b); and
(ii)the entity
selected to establish, operate, and maintain the new domain is the applicant
most capable and qualified to do so.
(B)Not later than 60 days after the completion of the
application period under subsection (a)(1), ICANN shall—
(i)review and apply
the selection criteria established under subparagraph (A) to each application
submitted; and
(ii)based upon such
criteria, select an application and award to the applicant a contract for the
establishment, operation, and maintenance of the new domain, unless ICANN
determines that no applicant could minimally provide for the establishment,
operation, and maintenance of the new domain in accordance with the
requirements under section 2(b).
(C)Second
application periodIf no applicant is selected pursuant to
subparagraph (B), not later than 30 days after the expiration of the 60-day
period under subparagraph (B), ICANN shall commence another application and
selection process that complies with the requirements under subsection (a) and
this subsection.
(D)If
the second application and selection process under subparagraph (C) does not
result in the award of a contract for the establishment, operation, and
maintenance of the new domain, not later than 30 days after the conclusion of
the 60-day period under subparagraph (C), ICANN shall—
(i)notify the
Secretary of Commerce in writing of the failure to award a contract under
subparagraph (C); and
(ii)submit to the
Secretary of Commerce a report describing the application and selection process
and setting forth the reasons for the failure to award the contract.
(c)The plan developed under section 2(a) shall provide for
ICANN to take all actions necessary to facilitate the full operation of the new
domain not later than 6 months after the award of the contract for the
establishment, operation, and maintenance of the new domain.
(d)The plan developed under section 2(a) shall provide
that ICANN shall, on an annual basis, review the actions of the entity selected
to establish, operate, and maintain the new domain to ensure that such entity
is complying with the requirements under section 2(b).
4.Commencing not later
than 6 months after the establishment of the new domain under section 2, any
operator of a commercial Internet website or online service that has as its
principal or primary business the making available of material that is harmful
to minors shall register such website or online service with the new domain and
operate such website or online service under the new domain.
5.
(a)Treatment of
publisher or speakerNo person or entity that operates or
maintains the new domain shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any
information or material provided by another registrant under the domain.
(b)No person or entity that operates or maintains the new
domain shall be held liable because of—
(1)any action
voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict to minors access through the new
domain to, or availability through the new domain of, material that is harmful
to minors; or
(2)any action taken
to enable or make available to registrants to the new domain or others the
technical means to restrict access by minors to material described in paragraph
(1).
6.
(a)Any
person who violates section 4, or any requirement, registration criteria, or
limitation applicable to a registrant to the new domain under section 2(b),
shall be subject to such civil penalties as the Secretary of Commerce shall
prescribe.
(b)The
Secretary of Commerce shall have the power to enforce the provisions of this
title, including—
(1)any requirements
or limitations applicable to a registrant to the new domain under section 2(b);
and
(2)the imposition
and collection of civil penalties under subsection (a).
(c)The Secretary of Commerce shall conduct periodic audits to
ensure compliance with requirements, registration criteria, and limitations
applicable to the new domain under this title.
7.
(a)The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, shall carry out a program to
publicize the availability of the new domain under this title.
(b)The
program under subsection (a) shall commence not later than 30 days after the
date that the new domain first becomes operational and accessible by the
public.
8.In this Act, the following definitions shall
apply:
(1)The
term ICANN means the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers.
(2)Material that
is harmful to minorsThe 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 is obscene, or
that a reasonable person would find—
(A)taking the
material as a whole and with respect to minors, is designed to appeal to, or is
designed to pander to, the prurient interest;
(B)depicts,
describes, or represents, in a manner patently offensive with respect to
minors—
(i)an
actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact;
(ii)an
actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual act; or
(iii)a
lewd exhibition of the genitals or post-pubescent female breast; and
(C)taking the
material as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific
value for minors.
(3)The
term minor means any person under 18 years of age.
(4)The term new domain means the Internet domain
established under this title.