[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5319 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5319
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 27 (legislative day, July 26), 2006
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require recipients of
universal service support for schools and libraries to protect minors
from commercial social networking websites and chat rooms.
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 ``Deleting Online Predators Act of
2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) sexual predators approach minors on the Internet using
chat rooms and social networking websites, and, according to
the United States Attorney General, one in five children has
been approached sexually on the Internet;
(2) sexual predators can use these chat rooms and websites
to locate, learn about, befriend, and eventually prey on
children by engaging them in sexually explicit conversations,
asking for photographs, and attempting to lure children into a
face to face meeting; and
(3) with the explosive growth of trendy chat rooms and
social networking websites, it is becoming more and more
difficult to monitor and protect minors from those with devious
intentions, particularly when children are away from parental
supervision.
SEC. 3. CERTIFICATIONS TO INCLUDE PROTECTIONS AGAINST COMMERCIAL SOCIAL
NETWORKING WEBSITES AND CHAT ROOMS.
(a) Certification by Schools.--Section 254(h)(5)(B) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)(5)(B)) is amended by
striking clause (i) and inserting the following:
``(i) is enforcing a policy of Internet
safety for minors that includes monitoring the
online activities of minors and the operation
of a technology protection measure with respect
to any of its computers with Internet access
that--
``(I) protects against access
through such computers to visual
depictions that are--
``(aa) obscene;
``(bb) child pornography;
or
``(cc) harmful to minors;
and
``(II) protects against access to a
commercial social networking website or
chat room unless used for an
educational purpose with adult
supervision; and''.
(b) Certification by Libraries.--Section 254(h)(6)(B) of such Act
(47 U.S.C. 254(h)(6)(B)) is amended by striking clause (i) and
inserting the following:
``(i) is enforcing a policy of Internet
safety that includes the operation of a
technology protection measure with respect to
any of its computers with Internet access
that--
``(I) protects against access
through such computers to visual
depictions that are--
``(aa) obscene;
``(bb) child pornography;
or
``(cc) harmful to minors;
and
``(II) protects against access by
minors without parental authorization
to a commercial social networking
website or chat room, and informs
parents that sexual predators can use
these websites and chat rooms to prey
on children; and''.
(c) Definitions.--Section 254(h)(7) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subparagraph:
``(J) Commercial social networking websites; chat
rooms.--Within 120 days after the date of enactment of
the Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006, the
Commission shall by rule define the terms `social
networking website' and `chat room' for purposes of
this subsection. In determining the definition of a
social networking website, the Commission shall take
into consideration the extent to which a website--
``(i) is offered by a commercial entity;
``(ii) permits registered users to create
an on-line profile that includes detailed
personal information;
``(iii) permits registered users to create
an on-line journal and share such a journal
with other users;
``(iv) elicits highly-personalized
information from users; and
``(v) enables communication among users.''.
(d) Disabling During Adult or Educational Use.--Section
254(h)(5)(D) of such Act is amended--
(1) by inserting ``or educational'' after ``during adult''
in the heading; and
(2) by inserting before the period at the end the
following: ``or during use by an adult or by minors with adult
supervision to enable access for educational purposes pursuant
to subparagraph (B)(i)(II)'' .
SEC. 4. FTC CONSUMER ALERT ON INTERNET DANGERS TO CHILDREN.
(a) Information Regarding Child Predators and the Internet.--Not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Federal Trade Commission shall--
(1) issue a consumer alert regarding the potential dangers
to children of Internet child predators, including the
potential danger of commercial social networking websites and
chat rooms through which personal information about child users
of such websites may be accessed by child predators; and
(2) establish a website to serve as a resource for
information for parents, teachers and school administrators,
and others regarding the potential dangers posed by the use of
the Internet by children, including information about
commercial social networking websites and chat rooms through
which personal information about child users of such websites
may be accessed by child predators.
(b) Commercial Social Networking Websites.--For purposes of the
requirements under subsection (a), the terms ``commercial social
networking website'' and ``chat room'' have the meanings given such
terms pursuant to section 254(h)(7)(J) of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)(7)(J)), as amended by this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives July 26, 2006.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.