[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 95 (Wednesday, June 25, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8599-S8600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SAFETY ON THE INTERNET

  Mr. TALENT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 185 which was 
submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 185) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate with respect to raising awareness and encouraging 
     education about safety on the Internet.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise in support of this resolution 
expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to raising awareness 
and encouraging education about safety on the Internet and supporting 
the goals and ideals of National Internet Safety Month.
  The Internet has become one of the most significant advances in the 
twentieth century and, as a result, it affects people's lives in a 
positive manner each day. However, this technology is fraught with 
dangers that need to be brought to the attention of all Americans.
  Never before has the problem of online predatory behavior been more 
of a concern. Consider the pervasiveness of Internet access by children 
and the rapid increase in Internet crime and predatory behavior. Never 
before have powerful educational solutions--like Internet safety 
curricula for grades kindergarten through 12, youth empowerment 
Internet safety campaigns and community-based Internet safety awareness 
presentations with the formation of community action teams, such as 
what I-Safe America, a non-profit Internet safety foundation, does--
been more critical and readily at hand. It is imperative that every 
community in every state be apprised of the increase in Internet-based 
criminal activity so that all Americans may learn about the Internet 
safety strategies which will enable them to keep their children safe 
from victimization. Consider the facts: Worldwide, 70 million youth 
under the age of 18 are online. This is considered to be a conservative 
estimate since it is projected that there are two million new Internet 
users per month in America alone. The Family/PC Survey in 2000 reported 
that 1 in 4 kids participate in real-time online chats. The Pew Study 
reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in June 
2001 that 13 million youth use Instant Messaging and that 89 percent of 
sexual solicitations were made in either chat rooms or Instant 
Messages. One in five teenagers who are online note that they have 
received unwanted sexual solicitations, according to the Crimes Against 
Children Research Center in a study completed in 2000.
  It's important to note that while it's reported that 90 percent of 
teens and young adults ages 15 to 24 go online and half of them go 
online once a day or more, three out of four young people have access 
at home and nearly one in three has access from their own bedroom, 
according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. According to a 1999 Arbitron 
New Media study, the majority of teenagers' online use occurs at home, 
right after school, when working parents are not at home. Thirty 
percent of the girls responding to a 2002 Girl Scout Research Institute 
study, ``The Net Effect: Girls and New Media,'' said they had been 
sexually harassed in a chat room, but only seven percent told a parent 
about the harassment, most fearing their parents would overreact and 
ban computer usage altogether.
  From a parental perspective, 75 percent of parents say that they know 
where their children spend time online. The truth about kids' Internet 
habits, according to WebSense, USA Today, and the National Foster 
Parent Association show that 58 percent of teens say they have accessed 
an objectionable website. A 2000 Time/CNN poll indicated that 43 
percent of children say they do not have rules about Internet use in 
their homes. Also, 62 percent of parents of teenagers are unaware that 
their children have accessed objectionable websites, according to a 
Yankelovich Partners Study. According to the London School of 
Economics, 9 out of 10 children between the ages of 8 and 16 have 
viewed pornography on the Internet. In most cases, sex websites were 
accessed unintentionally when a child, often in the process of doing 
homework, used a seemingly innocent sounding word to search for 
information or pictures.
  Most disturbing, however, are the patterns of Internet crimes against 
children. In 1996, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved in 
113 cases involving Internet crimes against children. In 2001, the FBI 
opened 1,541 cases against people suspected of using the Internet to 
commit crimes involving child pornography or abuse. The U.S. Customs 
Service now places the number of websites offering child pornography at 
more than 100,000. Moreover, there was a 345 percent increase in the 
production of these sites just between February 2001 and July 2001, 
according to a recent study. The FBI notes that child pornography and 
the sexual exploitation of children through online means is the most 
significant crime problem it confronts.
  Now is the time for America to focus its attention on supporting 
Internet safety, especially now that children are now on summer 
vacation and will subsequently spend more time online. Recent Internet 
crime trends indicate a call to action as it pertains to national 
Internet safety awareness at all levels.
  Mr. TALENT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to this 
matter be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 185) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 185

       Whereas, in the United States, 48 million children between 
     the ages of 5 and 17 use computers;
       Whereas 5 to 17 year-olds in the United States currently 
     spend 5 billion hours on-line annually;
       Whereas 70 million youth under the age of 18 worldwide are 
     on-line;
       Whereas the majority of teenagers' on-line use occurs after 
     school, at home, when working parents are not at home;
       Whereas 90 percent of those age 15 to 24 use the Internet, 
     with almost half of them using it once a day or more;
       Whereas approximately 3 out of 4 young people have access 
     to the Internet at home,

[[Page S8600]]

     and nearly 1 in 3 has access from their own bedroom;
       Whereas 9 out of 10 children between ages 8 and 16 have 
     viewed pornography on the Internet, with most being accessed 
     unintentionally when, often in the process of doing homework, 
     a child used a seemingly innocent sounding word in an 
     Internet search for information or pictures;
       Whereas 62 percent of parents of teenagers are unaware that 
     their children have accessed objectionable websites;
       Whereas 89 percent of sexual solicitations were made in 
     either chat rooms or Instant Messages;
       Whereas 30 percent of the girls responding to a Girl Scout 
     research study reported that they had been sexually harassed 
     in a chat room, but only 7 percent told a parent about the 
     harassment, most fearing their parents would overreact and 
     ban computer usage altogether;
       Whereas, in 1996, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was 
     involved in 113 cases involving Internet crimes against 
     children, but in 2001, the FBI opened 1,541 cases against 
     suspects of Internet crimes involving child pornography or 
     abuse; and
       Whereas June as National Internet Safety Month will provide 
     national awareness of the dangers of the Internet while 
     offering education about how to be safe, responsible, and 
     accountable on the Internet: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) National Internet Safety Month provides an opportunity 
     to educate the people of the United States on the dangers of 
     the Internet and the importance of being safe and responsible 
     on-line;
       (2) national and community organizations should be 
     recognized and applauded for their work in promoting 
     awareness of the dangers of the Internet and for providing 
     information on developing the critical thinking and decision-
     making skills to be safe on-line; and
       (3) Internet safety organizations, law enforcement, 
     educators, and volunteers should increase their efforts to 
     raise the awareness of on-line safety.

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